6 Killed, Many Injured in Blast at Army Ammunition Depot in Wardha
New Delhi: Six persons were killed and several injured in a blast at an Indian Army ammunition depot in Wardha, Maharashtra, on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred at the Pulgaon Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) around 7.15 a.m. when discarded ammunition intended for destruction was being unloaded at the sprawling demolition ground. The depot is some 110 km from Nagpur , IANS reported.
Around 10 to 15 contract labourers were at the site when the incident occurred, Wardha's Additional Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pingle told News18.
The demolition work was being carried out by the Ordinance Factory (OF), Khamaria, Jabalpur, with the help of an authorised contractor.
The personnel were helping dig up pits and place sand bags over the explosives, according to a defence spokesperson here.
According to the Indian Express, the deceased were identified as Rajkumar Bhowte, 23, Prabhakar Ramdas Wankhede, 46, Pravin Prakash Munjewar, 25, Vilas Lakshmanrao Pachare, 40, and Narayan Pachare, 55—a nephew-uncle duo from Sonegaon—and staffer Udayveer Singh from OF, Jabalpur. Three of these were casual workers employed by the contractor.
The intensity of the blast was so severe that the victims were thrown several metres away and their bodies were badly mangled and burnt, the IANS report said.
In 2016, sixteen people were killed in a blast at the ammunition depot at Pulgaon.
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