At least eight people have been killed in an explosion at a stone mining quarry in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, the police control room said.
The possibility of subsequent explosions at the quarry at Hunasondi near village Abbalagere has not been ruled out by the police since some dynamite sticks are still live, the Indian Express reports quoting police.
Bomb disposal squads have been called in and the entire area has been sealed.
The people who died in the explosion were reportedly transporting the explosives meant for mining in a truck when the incident happened. The truck was destroyed, the police said.
“At least eight people were killed in a dynamite blast at a railway crusher site in Hunasodu village,” Shivamogga District Collector KB Shivakumar told news agency ANI late on Thursday.
According to the police, the blast took place near a gravel and boulder crushing facility around 10:30 pm and it sent shockwaves in neighbouring areas including Chikkamagaluru and Davangere districts. “The blast was so strong that window panes shattered while many houses and even roads developed cracks,” PTI quoted eye-witnesses as saying.
The jolt was mistaken to have been caused by an earthquake, following which geologists were contacted who ruled out recording tremors in any of their observatories. “There was no earthquake. But an explosion did take place at Hunsur on the outskirts of Shivamogga under the Rural Police station limits,” a police officer said according to PTI.
As the news broke, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to express his pain at the loss of lives saying the state government is providing all possible assistance to the affected.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences over the incident saying such incidents call for an in-depth investigation so that similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.
The truck carrying the explosives was badly mangled and the bodies of the victims were dismembered beyond recognition, the police said.
The victims were reportedly transporting the explosives meant for mining when the explosion occurred. The vehicle was badly mangled and the bodies of the victims were dismembered beyond recognition. Senior district and police officials including the superintendent of police of Shivamogga have rushed to the spot.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Friday ordered a high-level probe to look into the incident.
Source: The Indian Express
