25 dead in mine explosive blast in India

At least 25 people were killed and 35 injured when explosives kept inside a building went off at a town in central Indian town of Madhya Pradesh today, police said.

Two buildings were extensively damaged in the high-impact explosion in Petlawad town of Jhabua district, according to A R Khan, a sub divisional officer of Police (SDOP) in Petlawad.

The blast took place at around 8:30am at a store in the building where piles of explosive material used for mines were kept, our New Delhi correspondent reports quoting the official.

So far, bodies of 25 people have been recovered from the debris of both the buildings, Jhabua District Magistrate Aruna Gupta told Press Trust of India news agency.

Some 35 injured people have been pulled out from under the debris and referred to a nearby hospital, Gupta said.

Many others are suspected to be trapped in the debris, she said, adding that the exact number of casualties will be known once the rescue operations are over.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident and 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.

Meanwhile, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been dispatched to Jhabua to help in the salvage operations of the collapsed building.

"A team equipped with gadgets to remove collapsed structures has been sent to the accident site in Jhabua from Vadodara in Gujarat. The team will assist the local administration in the retrieval operations," NDRF Director General O P Singh told PTI in Delhi.