17 killed, 18 injured in massive blast at explosives factory in Nagpur

At least 17 persons were killed and 18 others injured in a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Sunday morning, police said.

The blast took place at the SBL Energy Limited factory, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil, a senior police official said.

At least 17 persons were killed and 18 others suffered injuries, the police said.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the site to carry out the rescue operations.

Representatives of SBL Energy Limited told PTI that the incident occurred at the company's detonator packing unit between 7 am and 7.15 am.

 

Rescue operations were underway, a company official said, adding that they will release a statement soon.

The injured were shifted to a hospital in Nagpur immediately after the blast, the police said.

District Collector Vipin Itankar and Superintendent of Police Harrsh Podar were at the spot.  Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday termed the blast at an explosives factory in Nagpur district as "extremely tragic and unfortunate", and said a detailed probe has been ordered into the incident.  Orders have been issued for a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion, Fadnavis said in a statement.

The CM said he is in constant touch with the local administration, and that the district collector and superintendent of police rushed to the spot immediately after the blast.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with officials from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Defence Information System for Security (DISS), were at the site and rescue operations were being carried out on a war footing, he said.

The CM expressed condolences to the victims and their families.  Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday condoled the loss of lives in a blast at an explosives factory in Maharashtra's Nagpur and announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).  "The explosion at a factory in Nagpur, Maharashtra, is deeply distressing. My condolences to the families of the deceased. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The local administration is assisting those affected," Modi said in a post on X.

"An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000," the PM said.

The incident comes a day after a blast at a cracker unit in Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada district claimed 21 lives.