Jabalpur, Oct 22 (PTI) One worker was killed and another was missing while 14 others were injured in a powerful blast at Ordnance Factory Khamaria in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Of those injured, one was in ICU, they said.
The factory’s general manager M N Haldar said the explosion took place during the “boil out” process of a Russian missile around 10.45 AM. It was a regular process, being carried out on a daily basis, he said.
The factory’s Public Relations Officer Avinash Shankar said a worker named Randhir Kumar, who was undergoing treatment at a private hospital, succumbed to the injuries. Three others were admitted there and one of them was in ICU, he added.
Mutilated body parts were found by the rescue team near the blast site, and these would be sent for forensic examination so that identification can be done, he said. The body parts were found during a search for missing employee Alexender Toppo, Shankar added.
Eleven other injured employees were discharged from the factory hospital after primary treatment, he informed.
The blast was so powerful that it was heard by people a few kilometres away, witnesses said.
Ordnance Factory Khamaria is one of the major ammunition production units under the Department of Defence Production.
A probe has been ordered to ascertain the exact cause behind the blast, the PRO said.
Fire brigade and security staff of the factory launched the relief and rescue operation immediately after the blast, the official added.
General manage Haldar said while three or four persons were present in the same building at the time of the blast, others were working in the adjoining buildings.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed condolences.
“Information has been received about the loss of precious lives due to the explosion in the Army’s Khamaria Ordnance Factory in Jabalpur. I express my condolences to the factory workers who lost their lives untimely in the incident,” he said.
Providing the best possible treatment to the injured was the state government’s priority, Yadav added. PTI COR ADU MAS GK KRK
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