9 killed in Nowgam police station blast; cause being investigated: MHA

The blast occurred while personnel were handling the explosive material that had been brought from Haryana's Faridabad

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday said that nine people have been killed and 32 others were injured in a "massive" unfortunate accidental explosion at the Nowgam police station in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a press briefing, Prashant Lokhande, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said the cause of the incident is being investigated and any other speculation into the cause of the blast was unnecessary.

He said a huge cache of explosive substances and chemicals was recovered during probe into a terror module and kept securely in an open area in the premises of Nowgam police station, located on the outskirts of Srinagar.

As a part of the standard and prescribed procedure, the recovered explosives were forwarded to forensic and chemical examination, Lokhande said.

Because of the voluminous nature of the recovery, the procedure was being continuously carried out for the last two days, he said.

Owing to the "unstable and sensitive" nature of the recovery, it was being handled very carefully under expert supervision, the joint secretary said.

"However, during the process, an accidental explosion took place at about 11.20 pm on the night of November 14. In this unfortunate accidental incident, nine people have lost their lives where as 27 police personnel, two revenue officials and three civilians have received injuries," Lokhande said.

The police station has suffered severe damage, while some other buildings were also affected, he said.

"The cause of the accident is being investigated. However, any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary," the joint secretary said.