Southern States - Karnataka

12 charred to death in explosion

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR APRIL 18. At least 12 persons were charred to death and 22 suffered extensive burns in an explosion of gelatine sticks at Ankana Bhavi in C.N.Halli of Tumkur District on Thursday afternoon.

An eyewitness told The Hindu that the material was brought in two vehicles by a supply contractor and the explosion occurred while the men were unloading it into the store. The vehicles, the storehouse, and the adjacent canteen building caught fire. The roofs of the buildings collapsed. The quarry labourers, who had just then arrived for lunch at the canteen, became the victims.

Eight bodies were recovered at the accident spot where their burnt parts were strewn all over. Two more bodies are yet to be removed from inside the store. Two others died of burns at the C.N.Halli hospital. Nine persons, with more than 70 per cent burns, were sent to Bangalore, for treatment.

According to police, NEPC has been executing roadwork and the Nagarjuna Construction Company has been supplying them the road metal. The material is fetched from a supplier in Tumkur. Sources in the office of the Deputy Director of Mines and Geology said the agencies had valid licence.

The area MLA, C.B.Suresh Babu, who is on tour in Orissa, spoke to The Hindu on phone and said many of the victims were villagers.

He said he was in touch with the Superintendent of Police, R.Hitendra, who is supervising the relief operations at the accident spot.

Police were in the process of identifying the deceased, and only six names were made available till late evening. They are: Shama Naik, Shabina Naik, Chandra Naik, Kumara Naik, Basavaraju, and Gopala Naik.

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