Picture : Twitter / ANI
An explosion of a truckload of explosives, suspected to be meant for mining, killed at least six people in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district on Thursday night and sent shockwaves in neighbouring areas, police said.
The massive explosion took place near a gravel and boulder crushing facility around 10.30 pm, sending shockwaves not only in Shivamogga, but also in neighbouring Chikkamagaluru and Davangere districts.
CM BS Yediyurappa has ordered a high-level probe into the incident.
“Police & District Administration are taking care of rescue operations. Compensation & other such factors will be decided by the CM. Preliminary information says there’re 7 deaths. But further information only after full clearing of area” said Basavaraj Bommai, Karnataka Home Minister.
Bommai further told ANI , At outset it seems lot of quantity of dynamite has exploded there & there’s been some negligence by the quarry owner & the operators. Police have already arrested the quarry owner & the dynamite supplier. Probe is on.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has sought an in- depth investigation into the incident, he wrote in a tweet, The news of blast at stone mining quarry in Karnataka is tragic.
Condolences to the families of the victims. Such incidents call for in-depth investigation so that similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.
The news of blast at stone mining quarry in Karnataka is tragic.
Condolences to the families of the victims. Such incidents call for in-depth investigation so that similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 22, 2021
So strong was the blast that window panes shattered while many houses and even roads developed cracks, said an eye-witnesses.
As the jolt was mistaken to have been caused by an earthquake, geologists were contacted, who ruled out recording tremors in any of their observatories.
“There was no earthquake. But an explosion did take place at Hunsur on the outskirts of Shivamogga under the Rural Police station limits,” a police officer told PTI.
Another police officer said, “There has been a blast in a truck carrying gelatin. Six labourers in the truck were found dead. The vibrations were felt locally.”
He added that the death toll might increase.
The victims were reportedly transporting the explosives meant for mining when the explosion occurred. The vehicle was badly mangled and the bodies of the victims were dismembered beyond recognition.
Senior district and police officials including the superintendent of police of Shivamogga have rushed to the spot.
