Nine persons including six women were killed on the spot in a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory of Solar Explosives near Bazargaon on Amravati road on Sunday morning. The bodies of the workers were blown to pieces due to the high-intensity explosion and the building collapsed to the ground within fraction of second, said police. The search teams recovered 18 body parts from the accident site till late night. The deceased have been identified as Yuvraj Kisna Charode, a resident of Bazargaon in Nagpur district; Omeshwar Kisanlal Macchirke, a resident of Chakdoh, near Bazargaon; Meeta Pramod Uikey, a resident of Ambada Sonak, tehsil Katol; Aarti Nilkanth Sahare, a resident of Masod village, tehsil Kamptee; Shwwtali Damodhar Marbate, a resident of Kannamwar Gram, Wardha; Pushpa Shriram Manapure, a resident of Telipura, Shirala; Bhagyashree Sudhakar Lonare, a resident of Bhuj Tukum, tehsil Bramhapuri in Chandrapur district; Rumita Vilas Uikey, a resident of Dhaga village, tehsil Karanja in Wardha district; and Mosam Rajkumar Patle, a resident of Pachgaon in Mohadi tehsil in Bhandara district.

 

A police official said that the explosion occurred at 8.43 am when the workers were engaged in production and packaging of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) chemical, a potent yellow explosive material widely used in military applications. “They were sieving the TNT after filling it into a booster intended for coal mine detonation,” the official said. The bodies of nine workers, on the morning shift from 6 am to 2 pm, were blown to pieces in the blast. The single floor facility also collapsed in the accident and the blown body parts were trapped inside the debris, he said. The high-intensity explosion was heard by locals kilometres from the site. As a result, hundreds of locals gathered at the gate of the company to know about the safety of their relatives working at the unit.

 

To locate the bodies, the police utilised drones above the accident site and deployed a Bomb Detection and Defusal Squad, along with a Forensic team for evidence collection. The police found 18 body parts. They ensured security at the villages of the deceased. Residents shared harrowing accounts, such as Rama Narnawre, who mentioned the loss of a relative in the accident. Pankaj Meshram from another village noted that three workers had fortunately stepped out of the operational unit just before the sudden explosion rocked the facility. As the villagers launched a protest against the company, the police resorted to cane-charge. Kondhali police have registered a case of accidental death, with additional charges under the Indian Penal Code expected to be filed later. The factory falls under the jurisdiction of the Petroleum & Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO), and PESO officials are conducting an inquiry.