Explosion at Maharashtra's Wardha army base camp kills 6, injures 10; blast occurred while unloading old explosives

Six people died and 10 were injured in an explosion in an Army base camp in Maharashtra's Wardha on Tuesday. CNN-News18 reported that the Maharashtra Police confirmed the number of casualties. The report also said that the casualties include a worker of an ordinance factory and three civilians.

The blast, in the Pulgaon Army depot in Wardha, reportedly occurred while destroying old explosives.

#NewsAlert – Explosion in firing range near Wardha, Maharashtra. Police confirm that 1 worker of an ordinance factory and 3 local residents have died in the blast while 6 people have been injured. The blast happened while destroying old explosives. | @c_mangure with more details pic.twitter.com/7fuBboHqdT

— News18 (@CNNnews18) November 20, 2018

Around 10 to 15 contract labourers were at the site when the explosion occurred, Wardha's Additional Superintendent of Police Nikhil Pingle said. "The blast took place in one of the ammunition boxes while unloading the ammunition. The incident took place in an open space," he said.

While four people were killed on the spot, two others succumbed to injuries in hospital, Inspector General of Police (Nagpur Range) KMM Prasanna told PTI. The ground near the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) was given to the Ordnance factory, Khamaria (in Madhya Pradesh) for demolition activities, a Defence official said.

"The demolition was being carried out by staff of the Ordnance Factory, Khamaria, with the help of an authorised contractor. Contractual services are used for digging pits and placing sandbags over the explosives," he said.

The deceased included a staff member of the Khamaria-based factory and other labourers. The 10 injured were admitted to a hospital in the nearby Savangi village, Prasanna said. One of them was in a critical condition while three others received serious injuries, he said, and six others were out of danger.

Officials from the ordnance factories at Chandrapur in Maharashtra and Khamaria in Madhya Pradesh rushed to the spot to ascertain the cause of the accident, the Defence official said.

With inputs from agencies