An explosion at a munitions manufacturing facility in India on 24 January killed at least eight of us and injured seven others. The state-owned Munitions India manufacturing facility in Bhandara district, Maharashtra, was involved in manufacturing low temperature plastic explosives utilized in ammunition deployed in extreme altitude areas. The explosion happened in a fragile area of the manufacturing facility throughout which automated pressing machines produce 100g cartridges utilized in shells.
The explosion resulted throughout the collapse of the roof, trapping better than a dozen workers under the particles. The Nationwide Disaster Response Drive and its Chemical, Natural, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) group have been deployed to deal with the incident.
Mukesh Singh, working president of Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh, an all-India federation of defence workers, says that the explosion is not an isolated incident. ‘Accidents have occurred earlier at Bhandara and completely different ordnance factories. There are 41 ordnance factories throughout the public sector,’ he says. ‘There is a need for strict adherence to established protocols and customary safety drills, as over time of us are inclined to take points in a routine technique.’
A 3-member committee has been formed by the state authorities to analysis the accident. However, Singh highlights the dearth of transparency throughout the inquiry into an an identical incident at a Munitions India unit in Khamaria in October 2024, throughout which one worker died, along with any corrective actions carried out to cease future occurrences. ‘This lack of accountability has further fuelled resentment among the many many workforce,’ Singh says. The union has demanded an neutral inquiry, along with an intensive analysis of the manufacturing facility’s safety protocols and audit procedures.
An ex-gratia price of ₹500,000 (£4600) for the households of the victims was launched by the Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Phadnavis.