89 killed, over 100 injured in MP mining explosives

Posted on September 14, 2015 0 Comments339
Explosions caused by gelatin sticks flatten 2 buildings in Jhabua district.

JHABUA
At least 89 people were killed and about 100 injured on Saturday after a massive blast caused by mining explosives stored in a building ripped through a crowded area at Petlwad town in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.

The explosion, which occurred at 8.30 am, flattened at least two buildings – one in which detonators for digging wells in rocky areas were stored and an adjacent restaurant. The explosions also damaged several houses, the police said. Earlier reports had attributed
to tragedy to a cylinder blast.

Officials said the death toll might go up as more people were feared trapped under the debris. A team of National Disaster Response Force had reached the scene and taken over the rescue operations.

“Eighty-nine people have been killed inthe explosion,” Block Medical Officer Urmila Choyal told PTI. The injured were taken to hospitals in the area.

The explosion took place in the building of Rajendra Kasawa who has a licence to sell gelatin sticks in the mining district. The shop and the busy eatery, Sethia restaurant, were located in the new bus stand area, the said.

Among the victims were a large number of labourers who had assembled at the spot in search of their daily work. Besides, some people, who were to board buses to Gujarat and having snacks at the eatery, killed in the blasts. Petlwad is about 280 km from Ahmedabad.

“I saw bodies flying,” said Narsing, 42, who sustained injuries in the incident.

Balram, an injured labourer, said, “Initially, we thought crackers were being burst inside the building. Soon, a huge explosion took place,
spurring people to run for cover. But not all were lucky.”

State Home Minister Babulal Gaur said a high-level inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the reasons behind the incident, while Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

Prez, Modi condole deaths

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday condoled the loss of lives in the Jhabua explosions. “Extremely pained at the loss of lives due to the cylinder blast in Jhabua. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,” Modi said in a statement.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi also expressed grief over the tragedy. Agencies

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