At least six people were killed and 10 others injured in an explosion at the Wardha ammunition depot of the Army in Maharashtra’s Pulgaon on Tuesday morning, officials said.
The explosion occurred at the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Pulgaon around 7 a.m. when some discarded ammunition were being unloaded for destruction at the demolition ground here.
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Around 10 to 15 contract labourers were at the site when the incident occurred, Wardha’s Additional Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pingle said.
“The blast occurred in one of the ammunition boxes while unloading the ammunition. The incident took place in an open land,” he said.
While four people were killed on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries in hospital, Inspector General of Police (Nagpur Range) K M M Prasanna told PTI.
The deceased included an ammunition factory employee and labourers.
The injured were admitted to a hospital in the nearby Savangi village, another police official said. Police and fire brigade officials rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation.
The demolition ground at the Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon in the district was given to the Ammunition Factory, Khamaria (Madhya Pradesh), for demolition activities.
In May 2016, at least 17 security personnel, including two young Army officers, were killed in a major fire that broke out at the central ammunition depot in Pulgaon.
The central ammunition depot at Pulgaon is one of India’s biggest ammunition depot. It is located about 120 kilometres from Nagpur.
(With PTI inputs)
