Maharashtra: Death toll rises to 8 in Bhandara factory blast; 13 rescued, 5 under treatment

Bhandara (Maharashtra) [India], January 24 (ANI): The death toll in the ordnance factory blast in the Jawahar Nagar area of Bhandara district, has risen to eight, according to officials on Friday.
The blast incident claimed the lives of eight, while 13 people have been rescued from the site of the incident and five people are currently undergoing treatment.
Nagpur Range Inspector General Dilip Patil Bhujbal also shared the development and said, "Today, at around 11 am, a huge explosion took place at the Ordnance factory in Bhandara. The officials reached the spot immediately. The search and rescue operations were completed within 8 hours. It was a unit to make low-temperature plastic explosives."
"13 people were working at the unit. 8 lost their lives and 5 were injured. Two of the injured have been shifted to Nagpur and 3 are in Bhandara. Five tonnes of RDX is still there under debris. The process of removing it safely will begin in phase 2. An SOP would be created so that such an incident does not happen again," said the official.

Bhandara Collector Sanjay Kolte also spoke to ANI and said, "Today, our priority was the rescue operation. That has just been concluded. Police and allied agencies will carry out the further investigation."
According to an official release from the Ordnance Factory in Bhandara, "Today, on January 24, 2025, at about 10.40 am, a massive explosion suddenly occurred in LTPE Building No. 23 in the HEX section (LTPE) of this factory. Immediately after the explosion, the factory's rescue and relief team, fire brigade team and medical team reached the spot and started the rescue operation at a rapid pace. On receiving the information, the teams of District Administration, NDRR, and SDRF reached the spot and started the relief and rescue work of the personnel trapped in the building."
"People were evacuated from the spot, out of which 5 injured people were taken to the local hospital for treatment and are being given proper medical assistance. 8 people have died in this tragic accident. An inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the causes of the incident," said the release.
As per the release, the Chief General Manager of the factory has offered his tribute to the deceased workers expressed his deep condolences to the bereaved families of the departed souls and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured.
According to the NDRF, an explosion occurred at the Defence Factory in Jawahar Nagar, Bhandara. The incident resulted in a fire and subsequent building collapse. Initially, 13 individuals were reported trapped at the site.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was immediately deployed to the location to rescue those affected.
As per the Collector of the Bhandara district, Sanjay Kolte, the roof collapsed and people were trapped.
Upon receiving the information about the blast in the factory, firefighters and ambulances rushed to the spot and were deployed to conduct the rescue operations. (ANI)