MP: 2 Killed, 12 Injured in Explosion in Ordnance Factory

Bhopal: Two employees of the Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK) in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh were on Tuesday killed and a dozen others injured in an explosion in one of its bomb-making facilities, police said.

While one employee died on the spot, another succumbed to injuries during treatment in the hospital, Khamaria police station in-charge Gajwati Pusam told this newspaper.

The two slain people have been identified as Alexander Toppo and Ranveer Kumar.

Of the 12 injured people, three have been admitted to the Mahakaushal hospital in Jabalpur.

The remaining nine injured people were discharged from the hospital after first aid treatment, police said.

The incident occurred in building number 200 in section F- six of the factory, police said.

“The explosion occurred during the boiling out process of a Russian missile. We are investigating the cause of explosion”, chief general manager of the factory Manavendra Haldar said.

According to him, there were three to four employees in the building where the explosion took place.

However, around seven other employees in the nearby buildings were also injured.

The explosion caused damage to the particular building.

The explosion was so huge that people residing in a five km area from the facility could feel its impact.

Ordnance factory Khamaria is one of the major ammunition production units under the Department of Defence Production.

The factory was set up in 1943 during World War II as one of the Eastern Group Projects to meet the requirements of ammunition of the Allied Forces.

After independence, the product range of the factory was diversified to meet the operational requirements of different Services and Paramilitary Forces.

The factory was later further expanded to meet the new demands of the Army, Air Force and Navy.

The present production activity of the factory is a combination of hardware component manufacturing, explosive filling and ammunition assembly.