Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A massive explosion was reported at Ordnance Factory Khamaria in Jabalpur on Tuesday morning. Nine employees have sustained severe injuries, and two are said to be dead. However, the number of fatalities is yet to be confirmed.
According to information, the blast took place while disassembling a Russian "Pekora" bomb in section F-6, which contained around 25 to 30 kilograms of explosives. Due to the explosion, sections F-6, F-200, and F-200-A buildings were completely destroyed.
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Horrific deaths of 2, 13 injured, 3 critical
The deceased have been identified as Alexander Toppo, who died at the scene, and Ranveer Kumar, who passed away during treatment in a private hospital. Alexander Toppo's body was found in multiple pieces near section 6. 13 other employees were injured, with two of them, Shyamlal Thakur and Chandan Kumar, in critical condition. Plans are being made to airlift them for advanced medical care.
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The injured include Umesh Maurya, Praveen Dutta, Krishna Pal, S.K. Mandal, Ripu Kumar, Simon Anthony, Gautam Kumar, Ram Bihari, Pradeep Sahu, Abhishek Anand, Rahul Singh, and two unidentified workers. A team of three doctors conducted post-mortem examinations at a military hospital.
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High level investigation committee formed to find out the cause of blast
In response to the incident, the Ordnance Factory's management is in discussions with the government to ensure immediate assistance and support for those affected. A high-level investigation committee has been formed under the leadership of Ordnance Factory Khamaria's General Manager, R.K. Gupta, to discover the cause of the accident.
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Devashish Banerjee, the CMD of Munitions India Limited (MIL), a company under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, will arrive in Jabalpur today to hold safety and security meetings with the officials.
Similar incidents have been reported in the past at the Ordnance factory where defence hardware are manufactured.
Last year in December, a labourer sustained severe injuries after a detonator exploded while filling gunpowder in the grenades.
