A fire at a massive military ammunition depot yesterday killed at least 17 people and injured 19 more in central India.
The blaze broke out around 01:30 am at the depot in Pulgaon, near the city of Nagpur in the western state of Maharashtra, with television footage showing flames lighting up the night sky.Reports say seventeen people have died and nineteen are injured but are out of danger.
The injured reportedly include the Commanding Officer of the depot who was leading efforts to protect the ammunition. However, NDTV does not have independent confirmation of this.
An operation is in progress and the fire has been brought under control while thousands of families living in nearby towns and villages have been evacuated from around the depot, reportedly one of the largest ammunition centers in India.
In addition it is stated that two officers were among the 17 soldiers to have died and the huge blaze had broken out after an explosion at the depot.
Firefighters using 10 fire engines worked through the night to contain the blaze, Ramesh Barde, a fire officer with the Nagpur fire department.The fire was brought under control by 6:15 am.