Lt Col among 16 killed in fire at India's largest ammo yard

PULGAON (Wardha): A major fire in the central ammunition depot at Pulgaon -the biggest such storage facility in the country -killed 16 defence personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, and injured 17 in the early hours of Tuesday. The cause is not known.
The fire in a storage shed, containing over 130 tonnes of anti-tank mines and ammunition, triggered blasts that killed many of the personnel trying to prevent the blaze from engulfing the 7,000-acre depot, which supplies the Army with ammunition.
Senior Army officers said quick action by the firefighters limited the damage to one of 300 sheds in the depot and saved hundreds of crores of "highly sensitive" ammunition. "The fire began around 1am. It was doused by 6.30am. But the firefighting team paid a heavy price," said an officer. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Army chief Dalbir Singh have rushed to the spot. Flames several storeys high were visible outside the periphery of the depot, which has seven to eight villages in close proximity .Villagers claimed there were multiple explosions, which led to cracks in some houses.Civilian and Army authorities evacuated families from the villages closest to the depot as a safety measure.
The high number of casualties in the central ammunition depot, considered crucial for the country's military operational readiness, saw defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag rushing to the depot for a first-hand assessment. Parrikar said the exact cause of the incident would be established by the court of inquiry. "Though nothing is being ruled out, according to expert opinion of the Army , there is little chance of any sabotage," said the minister.
Tuesday's fire is reported to be the third such incident at Pulgaon. There was a major blaze in May 1989 but there were no casualties then. After that, another fire took place in 2005, which inflicted a loss of around Rs 22 crore. On Tuesday, the major explosion took place at 1.30 am, rattling nearby villages. Sources said the fire-fighting team at the CAD at first got a wireless message about smoke emanating from one of the sheds.Just as the team led by Lt Col onel R S Pawar reached the spot, there was a sudden explosion killing 16, including him, and injuring 17 others.
The wounded were rushed to Acharya Vinoba Bhave Gramin Rugnayala at Sawangi Meghe, 20 km away. The other officer who lost his life is Major K Manoj, incharge of security of CAD, along with one Army jawan and 13 civilian fire-fighting personnel. Four fire tenders engaged in operation were blown to bits due to the impact. A source said there was smoke emanating from the shed but what caught fire could not be ascertained. However, the fire did not spread to other ammunition sheds in the area. Reports also said Lt Col Pawar went inside the shed to find if there was fire within and was killed in the blast.
Lt Col Pawar is learnt to be from Mumbai and his wife is also in the Army .

By 10.30 am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families." He followed it up shortly with "I pray that those who are injured recover quickly .Have asked RM manoharparrikar to visit the spot and take stock of the situation."
CM Devendra Fadnavis said he had instructed Wardha collector to provide all assistance to army in putting out the fire and also to look after the injured.