Blast at Pulgaon Army Depot in Wardha; 6 Dead, Several Injured
While the exact cause of explosion is yet to be determined, initial sources claimed that the blast erupted during the process of destroying explosives.
Mumbai, November 20: A blast was reported in the early hours of Tuesday at the Indian Army's ammunition depot in Wardha. At least six were killed and 18 left injured in the explosion. The victims were rushed to the nearest civic hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
According to an official, the blast took place during the process of destroying explosives. "While carrying out demolition of old explosives by the staff of Ordnance factory Khamaria, Jabalpur at the demolition land in Pulgaon, there was an accident. In the incident 3 labourers and 1 staff of ordnance lost their lives," said Defence PRO B B Pande. Indian Army Has Upgraded to Fiber Bunkers to Sustain Extreme Temperatures.
The ammunition depot where the explosion was reported is based in Pulgaon, located in Maharashtra's Wardha district. According to a senior official, a probe will be conducted to ascertain the reason behind the fatal incident. Action is likely to be taken against staff members found responsible.
In 2016, a major fire was reported at the Pulgaon Army depot, leading to the death of 16 people. The blaze had then engulfed over 19,325 defective anti-tank mines, which went up in flames due to leakage of explosives from some of the mines.
The Ministry of Defence had recently lambasted the Ordnance Factory Board over its failure to crackdown on the negligent officers responsible for the fatal mishap.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2018 09:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).