New Delhi:

One person was killed and six were injured in a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district today, officials said.

The explosion occurred in the unit located near Pirda village in Berla development block, a district administration official said.

Soon after being alerted, police and rescue teams were rushed to the site, he said.

“While six persons injured in the blast were taken to Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial Hospital Raipur for treatment, one person was brought dead,” Public Relations Officer of the hospital Shubhra Singh told PTI.

The injured people are undergoing treatment, she added.

Bemetara collector Ranbir Sharma told reporters fire department teams and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel have been deployed.

Some eyewitnesses told local news channels that 100 people were working in the explosives manufacturing factory when the blast happened. They said several were missing and feared trapped under the debris.

Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said orders have been given for a magisterial inquiry into the explosion at the gunpowder factory.

“… And to provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured. The injured are being brought to Raipur for proper treatment. High-level monitoring of relief and rescue operations is being done at the spot,” Mr Sai said.

Chhatisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai tweets “Orders have been given for a magisterial inquiry into the explosion at the gunpowder factory in Borsi village of Bemetara district and to provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured…. pic.twitter.com/ryLuoMMz9P

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2024

The incident comes days after a blast in a chemical factory in Maharashtra’s Thane district killed nine and injured over 60.

Bemetara:

Five women and three children were killed and 23 persons injured when a goods vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh’s Bemetara district, police said on Monday.

The accident took place late Sunday night near Kathia village when the victims were returning after attending a family function, a senior police official said.

The victims, natives of Patharra village, were returning after attending a family function in Tiraiyya village, the official said.

The goods vehicle collided with the mini truck that was parked by the roadside, the official said.

Those killed were identified as Bhuri Nishad (50), Neera Sahu (55), Geeta Sahu (60), Agniya Sahu (60), Khushbu Sahu (39), Madhu Sahu (5), Rikesh Nishad (6) and Twinkle Nishad (6), he said.

The injured persons were admitted to two hospitals. Later, four critically injured persons were shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences Raipur, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)