9 killed in blast at factory

NAGPUR, Dec 17: Nine people were killed and three others seriously injured in a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Sunday, police said.
The blast took place at 9 am in a cast booster unit of the Solar Industries in Bazaargaon area, a senior police official said.
Nine people were killed, he said.
The incident took place at the unit, located 40 km from here, causing severe damage to the building, an official at Kondhali police station said, adding that 12 workers were present in the unit at the time of the explosion.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a post on X termed the incident as unfortunate and condoled the death of the nine people.
The State Government will provide an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has approved the decision, he said.
Fadnavis said nine people, including six women, died in the blast at Solar Industries.
It is a company that manufactures drones and explosives for the armed forces, he said.
The State Government stands firmly with the families of the victims on this sad occasion, he said.
“I am in touch with the Nagpur collector and superintendent of police. The IG, SP and collector are at the site,” Fadnavis added.
Solar Industries senior general manager Ashish Shrivastav told reporters that the incident occurred in the building where boosters used in coal mines are produced.
The incident took place when sealing work of the product was going on, he said.
Prima facie, nine people have died. The injured workers have been rushed to hospital, he said, adding that all the workers have been evacuated from the building.(PTI)