At least nine people and several others were killed in a blast at an explosives manufacturing company in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Sunday.

The blast took place at 9 am in a cast booster unit of Solar Industries in the Bazaargaon area of Nagpur. Several ambulances were stationed at the entrance gate of the Solar Industries factory.

As per sources, around 10-15 people are expected to be injured in the incident that killed at least nine others and the work of packaging explosives was underway when the blast occurred.

Senior General Manager at Solar Explosive Company, Ashish Srivastava said that the incident was reported around 9 am and nine people died.

“All the workmen have been evacuated. The authorities are looking into the matter,” Srivastava said.

According to reports, the company, where the blast occurred, deals with the supplies of explosives and other defence equipment for the country’s defence department.

The father of Aarti Sahare, who is among the deceased, told reporters that he got a message about the death of her daughter at 9.30 am and was still waiting for further information.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed shock at the explosion incident that killed 9 people and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 to the kin of victims who lost their lives in the incident.

“It is very unfortunate that 9 people including 6 women died in the explosion at Solar Industries in Nagpur. I pay my heartfelt respects to the deceased. The state government stands firmly with his family on this sad occasion. It is a company that manufactures drones and explosives for the defence forces,” the minister wrote on X.

“Nagpur Collector and Superintendent of Police are in constant touch and the IG, SP, Collector himself is at the spot. The state government will provide an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the heirs of those who died in this incident. It has been approved by Chief Minister Eknathrao Shinde,” he added.

(This is a developing story)