5 workers injured in blast at Itarsi Ordnance Factory

Five workers of the Defence Ordnance Factory here were injured in a powerful blast this afternoon.

The blast took place at around 3.45 PM in Ball Powder Section of the factory in which the entire building collapsed.

Though factory officials were tight-lipped about the incident, Ordinance Factory Hospital sources said that five workers were injured.

One of them, Chemical Process Worker B C Mazumdar, was seriously injured and shifted to Bhopal's Hajela Hospital.

Subsequently, the other injured workers, namely Ramdas, Balaram, Dharmendra Kumar and Bharat Kumar (all CPW), too were sent to Bhopal for treatment.

The Ball Powder Plant is Asia's biggest unit of its kind where explosive powder used in cartridges of rifles and other weapons is made.