Fire at Jabalpur ordnance factory, explosions follow

Bhopal: A fire broke out at Ordnance Factory, Khamaria (OFK) in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday evening, setting off a series of explosion. Initial reports suggest some 20 people have been injured however, officials have denied reports of any injuries. No casualty has been reported yet, district collector Mahesh Choudhary said. [caption id=“attachment_3302228” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “Smoke is billowing from a section of OFK. Explosions are still taking place,” Choudhary told PTI over phone from the spot at around 8 pm. Fire brigade personnel are trying hard to put out the blaze, he said. A report by, News18 India said that billowing fire was seen at the filling section of the ordnance factory, after as many as 30 loud explosions one after the other. The news channel report said that a major tragedy had been averted as the explosions took off around 6:30 pm, which is the time for the workers’ shifts to change, so not many people were inside the building. The cause behind the incident is still unknown, however, News 18 reporter said that minor incidences due to mishandling of ammunition have been reported in the past as well, but this was first major incident in the last five years. The report also stated that the incident took place when 125 mm anti-tank bombs were being dispatched. “According to the reports, factory No 316 and 318 of the OFK have been completely gutted due to the massive blaze,” the report said. Another report in Hindustan Times said that over 50 fire tenders were at the spot and the army has cordoned off the area and began carrying out search operations. The report further quoted the Jabalpur collector Mahesh Chandra Chaudhary, who said that an enquiry to the incident will be carried out soon. With inputs from PTI