18 killed, 24 injured in Nagpur explosives factory blast

A devastating blast at an explosives factory in Nagpur claims 17 lives, prompting immediate rescue efforts and raising concerns about industrial safety standards in explosives manufacturing

At least 18 workers were charred to death, and 24 others were injured, most of them critically, in a powerful blast that tore through an explosives manufacturing factory in Maharashtra's Nagpur district on Sunday morning, the police said.

The explosion occurred at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer, at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil between 7 AM and 7:15 AM.

The bodies were charred beyond recognition, and samples of the family members were being taken for DNA testing to ascertain the identities of the deceased, the police said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with officials from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Defence Information System for Security (DISS), carried out rescue operations, Fadnavis said.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident.

Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

Fadnavis said the Maharashtra government would provide Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, while the concerned firm will extend financial aid to the families of those affected.

Representatives of SBL Energy Limited told PTI that the blast occurred at the company's detonator packing unit.

"The incident occurred in the packing area of the facility, where no active manufacturing operations were underway at the time. The exact cause remains under investigation, and we are cooperating fully with the concerned authorities," the company said in a statement.

An internal review has been initiated, and appropriate corrective and preventive measures will be implemented based on the findings of the investigation, it said.

The company stated that ensuring all necessary assistance to the affected employees and their families is their immediate priority. In coordination with local authorities, the company is extending immediate financial assistance and bearing the full cost of medical treatment for the injured, it added.

A medical status report from one of the hospitals stated that all 18 patients admitted to the facility are in the ICU in a critical condition. "They required urgent operative interventions with intensive care and management," the facility stated.

Most of the patients have sustained severe mixed types of thermal burns ranging from 30 per cent to 80 per cent, with splinter injuries due to the blast.

"Some of the patients suffered hearing loss/deafness, and others have various mechanical surface wounds and long bone fractures," according to Orange City Hospital and Research Institute, Nagpur (OCHRI).

Former Maharashtra home minister and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Anil Deshmukh, meanwhile, claimed that negligence in carrying out safety audits of firms manufacturing explosives has led to a rise in the number of blasts at such facilities in Nagpur district.

Deshmukh, a former MLA from Katol, said he had written to CM Fadnavis, Union ministers, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), and related departments six months ago requesting safety audits of such firms in Nagpur, but the matter was neglected.

He had written after explosions at units in Bazargaon in the district.

A wave of grief swept through Raulgaon, Khedi, and Dhavlapur as most of the deceased women workers were from these very villages.

Kanta Chachane, 42, lost her 26-year-old daughter, Mangeshri Yeskar, who was working in a different unit on the premises.

"I am shattered," she told PTI.

She recalled hearing a huge explosion around 7 am, followed by continuous blasts for nearly an hour and a half. Workers rushed out of the unit as injured persons were carried to hospitals.

Among those who perished was 32-year-old Sunita Salame from Khedi village, who had been working at the factory for the past year, striving to support her family.

"Her death has left the three girls orphaned," her brother, Ishwar Masram, said.

Jyotsna Shendre, 30, also from Khedi, had been employed at the company for about a year.

With her sudden passing, her two daughters and son, Mahesh, have lost their mother's protection forever, a relative said.

In neighbouring Dhavlapur, 31-year-old Pratibha Walke had been working at the factory for a year and a half.

On the day of the explosion, her husband Suresh was on duty in another unit of the same factory and survived. Now, the responsibility of raising their two children rests solely on his shoulders.