NEWSLINKS US EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
A major fire broke out on Thursday in the army's ammunition depot at Mirdhwal, 20 km from Suratgarh town in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district. Heavy and medium tank shells, missiles and rockets were destroyed in the fire, which broke out around 12 noon.
The fire, which broke out in the middle of the sub-depot, where anti-tank mines were stored, spread rapidly, killing guard Kuldip Singh of the Defence Security Corps and causing serious burn injuries to two sentries, who were flown to a nearby army base hospital, an army spokesman said in New Delhi.
The police said they were evacuating residents from nearby villages and have cordoned off the area around the depot. The nearby National Highway has been blocked.
The army spokesman said bursting shells and mines were preventing about 25 civilian and army fire tenders from approaching the depot. But the intensity of the explosions had come down from 1900 IST, he added.
This is third such incident in the last one year.
Earlier, Rs 12 billion worth ammunition was destroyed in a fire at an ordnance depot in Bharatpur in Rajasthan in April last year.
In April this year, a fire had broken out in a depot in Pathankot in Punjab.
The report of the inquiry into the Bharatpur fire was not made public and is pending with the defence ministry.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
