Old explosives destroyed in MP ordnance factory: Official

A series of explosions at the ordanance factory at Khamaria here destroyed only old stored explosives and ammunition, a senior official said on Sunday.

Only the magazine building was damaged in the blasts that occurred on Saturday evening while the other buildings in the complex were unaffected, Senior General Manager A.K. Aggarwal told the media here.

The explosions began at 6.25 p.m. and continued for around 45 minutes, damaging the magazine building -- where old RCL 1,067 or explosives and other ammunition are stored, said Aggarwal who on Sunday inspected the damaged portion of the ordnance factory.

Earlier, Defence Ministry sources said the fire that broke out due to explosions at the ordnance factory in Madhya Pradesh did not affect India's defence inventory.

Jabalpur District Magistrate M.C. Chaudhary told IANS that the fire broke out in the F-3 section of the factory due to series of explosions caused by bombs.

Authorities said no one was injured in the incident.

As many as 19 persons were killed in a massive fire at Pulgaon arms depot in Maharashtra on May 31, 2016, and 17 others were injured.

While the Pulgaon fire was blamed on faulty anti-tank mines, the reason for fire in Jabalpur factory would be known only after a probe is completed, the officials here said.

--IANS

hindi-ao/tsb/vt