The death toll from the fire mishap at Pulgaon ammunition depot in Maharashtra has increased to 18. Two more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site.
According to police officials, the fire broke out at 1 AM on Tuesday, and the intensity of the fire and explosions was so high that seven people were blown to pieces. Two Army officers were among the people killed in the mishap.
The injured were admitted to Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital in Sawangi Meghe village.
By Tuesday afternoon, fire fighters were able to completely douse the fire. The situation is now under control, but the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
“Seven of them were blown to pieces and their body parts were later recovered from the site. The impact of the fire and explosions was so severe that these victims were thrown in the air and landed in pieces,” a top police official told PTI.
Army’s central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district in Maharashtra is one of Asia’s biggest ammunition depot, housing the biggest stockpile of weapons in India. The depot is located about 115 km from Nagpur, and encompasses an area of about 7,000 acres. This depot is used to store AK47 rifles, Brahmos missiles, bombs, explosives and a variety of other ammunition.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag visited the site on Tuesday.
“Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
Eyewitnesses said they heard loud explosions one after the other, as the raging fire lit up the night sky at Pulgaon. A massive fireball was earlier seen at one of the sheds where ammunition with expired shelf life is disposed.
As the fire broke out, the administration immediately got five nearby villages evacuated as a precautionary measure. About 1,000 people from these villages returned to their homes by Tuesday afternoon.
The police official said this is the first incident in the history of the ammunition depot that so many deaths have occurred. Two fire incidents had earlier occurred in the depot – in 1980 and 2004 – but no loss of life had happened at that time.
According to Dr Sandeep Shrivastava, 17 persons are receiving treatment at the hospital. Three persons were operated for minor injuries, while one individual was admitted with severe burn injuries.
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