Nine people - six women and three men - lost their lives in a blast at a solar explosive company in the Nagpur district of Maharashtra on Sunday. Several others were also injured.
The blast occurred at around 9:00 am in Solar Industries Ltd in Bazaargaon area. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
According to officials, a total of 12 workers were present inside the unit of the company when the blast took place. The explosion occurred at a cast booster plant of the firm, located at Bazargaon near Kondhali, approximately 60 km away from Nagpur.
The Maharashtra government has decided to provide an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the nearest kin of the blast victims.
According to a Times of India report, the workers were on duty during the morning shift when the blast happened. A senior police official stated that the police arrived at the scene promptly to control the situation and initiate rescue operations. The Nagpur district collector, who is overseeing the rescue operations, said: "The petroleum and explosives experts will investigate the accident and submit a report to me," Itankar stated while overseeing the rescue efforts at the site.
"We have redirected our forces from other areas to the site and are closely monitoring the situation," a top police official said.
