Pulgaon (Maharashtra) : At least 16 persons, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were killed and 17 injured in a massive fire at India’s largest ammunition depot in Maharashtra’s Pulgaon town early Tuesday, raising questions about alleged safety violations that endanger human lives and arsenal stocks at dozens of such facilities in the country.
The cause of the blaze that started at around 1 a.m. was not immediately known, but Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has ruled out sabotage.
The sprawling 7,000-acre depot, 115 km from Nagpur, houses the country’s biggest stockpile of weapons, including the Brahmos missiles, AK47 rifles, other arms and ammunition, bombs and explosive items. In fact, this lethal stock from various factories comes to the Pulgaon depot first and is then distributed to various forward areas.
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Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh told reporters in Delhi that the fire was “doused completely” and the “situation brought under control”. But not before two army officers, a soldier and 13 civilian fire-fighters lost their lives. The dead officers were identified as Lt. Col. R.S. Pawar and Major Mohan K. who were based at the depot.
It is understood that only one store at the depot was destroyed. ‘‘But for the sacrifice of these men, the ammunition in the remaining nine stores would have created a havoc in the area,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
According to one report, 17 Defence Security Corp jawans were also injured in the blaze, some of them critically. They were taken to a hospital in Wardha where their condition was reported to be stable.
Eyewitnesses and military officials said loud explosions followed a massive fireball at one of the sheds at the depot where ammunition with expired shelf life is also disposed. The depot recently won an award for using solar energy to dispose of expired ammunition. Ranbir Singh said fire fighting mechanism was immediately put into place “as per the laid down procedures” and the blaze was restricted “to one shed only that contained highly sensitive ammunition”.
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Five nearby villages had to be evacuated amid deafening explosions and rising flames at the depot. However, some 1,000 men and women from these villages had returned to their homes by Tuesday afternoon. The army has ordered a probe into the incident and the extent of damage to defence assets was being ascertained, Ranbir Singh said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the loss of lives in the disaster.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army chief General Dalbir Singh visited the depot that supplies ammunition to the entire western sector of the Indian Army. Parrikar told reporters that the probe would determine the exact cause of the blaze and “whether it was sabotage or an accident”.
There have been many instances of explosions causing blazes at various ordnance depots in India that has the world’s third largest army after the US and China.
The then defence minister A.K. Antony in 2012 told
Parliament that India had lost about Rs 710 crore, or $140 million, worth of arms and ammunition in five incidents of fire at depots in Kashmir’s Khundroo, Gujarat’s Bhuj and Panagarh in West Bengal.
CAUSE OF FIRE – Not known but chances of a grass fire in this hot weather has to be considered.
REPOSITORY OF AMMO – Bombs, grenades, shells, assorted rifles and other explosives from various factories are transported at the Pulgaon base first and then sent to forward areas.
BIGGEST DEPOT – Spread across 10,000 hectares, the central ammunition depot at Pulgaon is the biggest in the country.
CRITICAL STORE – Ammunition stored here includes AK-47s and BrahMos missiles.
HUMAN ERROR? – Not likely since the fire started at night when nobody is handling arms and ammunition.
SABOTAGE? – Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar rules out sabotage but says probe will reveal cause
