17 killed, 19 injured after blaze engulfs an India army ammunition depot
The fire broke out overnight at the high security depot stockpiling tonnes of weapons and ammunition near the city of Nagpur in central India
A fire at one of India’s largest military ammunition depots on Tuesday killed at least 17 people and injured scores more, officials said, as footage showed flames lighting up the night sky.
The blaze broke out overnight at the high security depot stockpiling tonnes of weapons and ammunition near the city of Nagpur in central India.
“Seventeen people have died. Nineteen are injured but are out of danger,” Smita Patil, superintendent of Wardha district police, said by phone from the scene.
“An operation is in progress and the fire has been brought under control,” Patil added.
Thousands of families living in nearby towns and villages have been evacuated from surrounding areas in Pulgaon, in the western state of Maharashtra, amid fears of secondary explosions at the depot.
The Press Trust of India news agency said two officers were among the 17 soldiers to have died, while the NDTV network said the huge blaze had broken out after an explosion.
India’s military has a history of fires and other accidents that have been blamed on lax safety standards, including a blaze on a submarine that left two officers dead off the Mumbai coast in 2014.