A 52-year-old employee of an ordnance factory Bhandara in Maharashtra was killed in an explosion at the factory while on duty on Saturday morning, officials said.
The factory is located in Jawaharnagar on the outskirts of Bhandara city. In response to the incident, authorities announced the establishment of a three-member investigation committee.
Police identified the deceased as 52-year-old Avinash Meshram, but it is not yet clear what led to the explosion.
“At 8:15 a.m., an explosion was heard from the HEX department of Ordnance Factory Bhandara. On hearing the explosion, employees from a nearby department rushed to the department and found Avinash Meshram lying motionless.” said a release issued by a factory spokesperson.
He was immediately taken to the factory hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The reason for the incident is still unknown and a three-member committee has been set up to investigate, the release said.
It added that the factory authorities have initiated necessary steps to provide compensation and pension to the families of the deceased.
Bhandara Superintendent of Police Rohit Mahtani told PTI in an interview that Meshram was manufacturing wire used to detonate explosives when the accident occurred in a building on the factory premises.
Inspector Sudhir Borkhte of Jawaharnagar police station said the deceased was from Gondia district.
“Based on the information received so far, an accidental death report has been filed in this connection,” he said.
Bhandara District Collector Yogesh Kumbaykar said senior officials from the Directorate General of Occupational Safety and Health had visited the blast site.
The body of the deceased was sent to Civil Hospital for post-mortem, he said.
