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Roundup: 20 killed in fire in India's biggest military ammunition depot

Xinhua, May 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

At least 20 Indian Army personnel, including two senior officials, were killed and 19 others injured in a major fire in the country's biggest military ammunition depot located in the western state of Maharashtra Tuesday, a senior defense official said.

"The fire broke out at the Central Ammunition Depot around 1 a.m. (local time) and triggered a series of explosions that helped it spread quickly through the storage facility in Pulgaon in the state's Wardha district which is close to the town of Nagpur," he said on condition of anonymity.

While 20 charred bodies were recovered from the spot, those injured have been admitted to various hospitals where the conditions of some are said to be serious, the official said, adding that all the casualties belonged to the Army's Defence Security Corp that guards strategic installations.

The Central Ammunition Depot stores AK-47s rifles and supersonic BrahMos missiles, and recently got an award for using solar energy to dispose of expired ammunition. The facility caters to the Indian Army's ammunition needs in the western sector.

Local TV channels showed footage of flames lighting up the sky above the ammunition depot and reported that several fire tenders have been pressed into service to bring the blaze under control.

Some 1,000 people in nearby villages were evacuated and the area has been cordoned off, reports said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and ordered Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar to visit the spot.

"Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who are injured recover quickly," the prime minister tweeted.

Though it has not yet ruled out any sabotage, the Indian Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry to ascertain the exact cause of fire at the depot. "A thorough probe will be conducted by the Indian Army to find out what triggered the inferno at the strategic storage facility," the official said.

This is a major fire incident at an Indian Army ammunition depot in the past six years, though the Indian Navy has been hit by a series of accidents in the recent past that claimed a number of lives of naval personnel. Endit