At least 17 people died, and 18 others sustained injuries in a massive blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Nagpur district, Maharashtra, on Sunday morning.
The explosion occurred at the SBL Energy Limited facility in Raulgaon, Katol tehsil, around 7 am.
Police confirmed the casualties and said rescue operations began immediately. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Nagpur. District Collector Vipin Itankar and Superintendent of Police Harrsh Podar reached the site to oversee relief efforts. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined local authorities in rescue operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy and announced ex gratia compensation. Families of the deceased will receive Rs 2 lakh each, while the injured will get Rs 50,000 from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. “The explosion at a factory in Nagpur, Maharashtra, is deeply distressing. My condolences to the families of the deceased. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Modi said in a post on X.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis described the incident as “extremely tragic and unfortunate” and ordered a detailed probe into the cause of the blast. Company officials stated the explosion occurred in the detonator packing unit between 7 am and 7:15 am.
The Nagpur blast comes just a day after a similar tragedy at a cracker unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district claimed 21 lives, raising concerns about safety standards in explosives and firework manufacturing units.
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