NEW DELHI, May 31 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Indian Army personnel, including two senior officials, were killed and 19 others injured in a major fire in the country's biggest military ammunition depot located in the western state of Maharashtra Tuesday, a senior defense official said.
"The fire broke out at the Central Ammunition Depot around 1 a.m. (local time) and triggered a series of explosions that helped it spread quickly through the storage facility in Pulgaon in the state's Wardha district which is close to the town of Nagpur," he said on condition of anonymity.
While 20 charred bodies were recovered from the spot, those injured have been admitted to various hospitals where the conditions of some are said to be serious, the official said, adding that all the casualties belonged to the Army's Defence Security Corp that guards strategic installations.
The Central Ammunition Depot stores AK-47s rifles and supersonic BrahMos missiles, and recently got an award for using solar energy to dispose of expired ammunition. The facility caters to the Indian Army's ammunition needs in the western sector.
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