MUMBAI: Eight people were killed in a blast at an ordnance factory in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district on Friday morning, according to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He confirmed that, as per preliminary information, eight individuals had died and seven were injured.While the minister put the death toll at eight, district collector Sanjay Kolte told PTI that so far four bodies had been retrieved and five injured persons rescued. “Rescue operation was on for four to five persons still trapped under the debris”, he added.The explosion occurred around 10:30 am at the factory in Jawahar Nagar, causing a fire and leading to a building collapse. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed immediately for the rescue operation, using specialized equipment to ensure the safety of those involved.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” by the incident. All efforts were being made to provide assistance to the affected people, he said on X.”Deeply saddened to know about the blast at Ordnance Factory at Bhandara, Maharashtra. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said on X.Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that 13 to 14 workers were stuck at the site. According to police and district authorities, the explosion occurred in the “LTP section”.As per collector Kolte, 13 to 14 people were working in the unit at the time of the incident. The four deceased workers were identified as Chandrashekhar Goswami (59), Manoj Meshram (55), Ajay Nagdeve (51), and Ankit Barai (21). Among the injured were N P Wanjari (55), Sanjay Raut (51), Rajesh Badwaik (33), Sunil Kumar Yadav (24), and Jaydeep Banerjee (42), district officials said.
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