Explosion at govt-owned godown injures 4 in Bangalore

Four persons suffered minor injuries as detonators stored in a government-owned godown in Hebbal went off on Tuesday.

The godown in Sanjayanagar police station limits belonged to the Central Agricultural Engineering Workshop of Agro Industries Corporation Limited.

Identifying the injured as Nanjunda (55), Abdul Munaf (23), Noorulla Islam (22) and Murugan (38), police said the blast took place when one of the injured threw detonators into a fire around 12.30 pm. The injured were undergoing treatment at the Baptist Hospital.

The government had taken over the site after the Agro Industries closed down in 2003. The land was meant for constructing government quarters.

The building construction had started and labourers were asked to clean up the godowns. While cleaning, they came across the box containing the detonators.

Nanjunda, a driver, took the box outside the godown, and tossed four detonators into a fire lit to incinerate waste materials.

The detonators thrown into the fire exploded, injuring the driver and three security guards. The blast injured their eardrums.

Deputy commissioner of police (North division) HS Revanna said the detonators were used in granite quarries and for digging wells. Even after the godown was closed, the staff had not transferred the box containing 25 detonators.

Following the blast, bomb disposal squad and experts from the forensic science laboratory reached the scene and recovered the remaining detonators.