6 killed, 10 injured in explosion at Pulgaon Army depot in Wardha

Nagpur: At least six people were killed and ten injured in an explosion at Pulgaon-based Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) in Wardha district of Maharashtra on Tuesday morning, sources said.

According to the sources, the blast occurred at around 0710 hrs when the employees of the depot were disposing unused explosives in a military firing range area of Pulgaon.Of the six, two bodies were charred beyond recognition, the sources said, adding that the deceased are yet to be identified.

All injured were rushed to the nearby Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital at Sawangi in Wardha district, where three of them are reported to be critical, the sources said.

Pulgaon in Wardha houses the largest weapons stockpile in the country and these stocks include assorted weaponry including bombs, grenades, shells, rifles and other explosives. All the ordnance produced in different factories arrives at this facility before it is sent out to various forward bases.

This is the second major blast in the depot in the last two years.In May 2016, 17 persons were killed in a major fire in the depot while disposing the explosives.(UNI)