Six dead as old explosives go off in Wardha

An accidental blast at the Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon claimed six lives and left 10 injured on Tuesday morning. According to Defence sources, the mishap took place while old explosives were being disposed off. One trained employee and five casual labourers lost their lives.

The blast took place at 7.10 am on Tuesday morning at Sonegaon demolition/destruction area in Wardha district. Staff of the ordnance factory in Khamaria, Jabalpur was overseeing the demolition of old explosives, said Group Captain Basant Kumar Pande. "The labourers, provided by an authorised contractor, were assisting in digging the pit and placing sand bags on the explosives. The mishap took place when this was underway," said Pande. The injured have been taken to government hospital in Sawangi.

Officials from the Khamaria and Chandrapur ordnance factories – especially experts in this field – have rushed to the site.

Meanwhile, the state government announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the deceased; and a relief of Rs 2 lakh the grievously injured. An amount of Rs 50,000 has been promised to those with minor injuries.

Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is also the guardian minister of Wardha, said the compensation came out of a discussion with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He has also requested Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to provide assistance from the Union government. He added that a high-level committee would probe the incident and submit a report to the state within a month.