Death – Obituary – Accident and Crime News : Massive Explosion at Solar Industries India Facility in Nagpur Kills Nine Workers
BAZARGAON (KONDHALI): A devastating blast occurred at the assembly line of Solar Industries India, an international commercial and defense explosives manufacturer, located in Kondhali, 50km off Nagpur. The explosion, which took place early Sunday, claimed the lives of nine workers, including six women. The victims were tragically blown to smithereens, and only 12 body parts were recovered from the debris by a team of experts who ventured into the site several hours after the blast.
Efforts to locate the bodies were carried out by a search team with the assistance of JCB machines. However, their attempts to find the bodies, especially in the 1-meter-deep crater created by the explosion, proved to be unsuccessful. In response to the incident, the police immediately sealed off the decimated building, which housed the crucial explosives mixing and booster packaging unit of Solar Industries. The entry gate was vandalized by a restless crowd, who attempted to storm the premises. In the evening, the state government announced compensation of ₹5 lakh to the families of the deceased.
Ambulances from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Nagpur were dispatched to transport the deceased and injured. However, they returned with body parts for DNA identification. Two workers had a stroke of luck as they had left the perimeter just moments before the blast occurred.
According to sources, the workers were engaged in sieving, mixing, and casting boosters into highly explosive cartridges of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PENT) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) when a human error allegedly triggered the blast. The explosion sent tremors that could be felt up to a kilometer away. Experts have raised concerns about the skillset of the workforce in handling high-grade explosives and questioned the employment of a significant number of female laborers in such a high-risk job. Among the deceased was Mosam Patle, the 23-year-old supervisor who joined the company in August, raising concerns about the expertise and potential exploitation of employees who were forced to work overtime on a Sunday.
Senior police officials reported that excavation at the site commenced after a drone reconnaissance, followed by intensive surveillance by the bomb detection and disposal unit. As per the guidelines of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), an expert team was deployed before the search operation began.
While no FIR has been lodged as of yet, a senior police official stated that company officials could potentially be booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder for causing death due to negligence, as well as under the Explosives Act.
Two special teams from the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), one from the explosive wing and another from the DNA section, were mobilized. DNA sampling and testing for the identification of body parts will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Vijay Thakare, the deputy director of RFSL.
In response to the tragedy, angry relatives and villagers blocked the Nagpur-Amravati highway near the Solar Industries India Ltd facility. The excavation process was delayed until the approval of PESO experts. Police resorted to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd, and the area near Gate No. 2 was declared a ‘no man’s zone’ to maintain law and order. Several senior politicians, including Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, visited the site to assess the situation.
The victims of the explosion have been identified as Yuvraj Charode (31), Omeshwar Machhirke (25), Mita Uikey (27), Aarti Sahare (20), Swetali Marbate (22), Pushpa Manapure (37), Bhagyashri Lonare (23), Rumita Uikey (31), and the supervisor, Mosam Patle (23). Heavy police deployment has been ensured outside the GMCH mortuary in Nagpur, and the State Reserve Police Force has been mobilized to reinforce security at the company’s main gate.