LIVE: Fire at Pulgaon ammunition depot doused completely; 20 killed, 90 injured

In a major fire followed by a blast at India's biggest Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon in adjoining Wardha district in Maharashtra, 20 personnel including 18 Defence Security Corps jawans and two officers have been killed in the fire and 19 have been injured, army officials have said.

In a major fire followed by a blast at India's biggest Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon in Maharashtra, 20 Army personnel, including 18 Defence Security Corps jawans and two officers, have been killed.According to latest reports, Army chief General Dalbir Singh has left for Pulgaon. ANI tweeted:

The 25 injured are in the ICU at a hospital in Wardha, 40km from Pulgaon, Times Now reported. The fire has now been brought under control.  Some of them with burn injuries are in a critical condition, an army officer said.[caption id="attachment_2807814" align="alignleft" width="380"] A screengrab of the fire that broke out at Pulgaon killed 20. Courtesy - CNN News18[/caption]The main source of the fire was a shed which caught fire.Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Defence Minister to visit the central ammunition depot in Maharashtra's Pulgaon to take stock of the situation. Modi also expressed pain over the loss of lives caused by the fire and prayed for quick recovery of the injured.The figure of casualties, including fatalities, is expected to increase even as nightlong fire-fighting efforts continued inside the sprawling CAD. Lt Col R S Pawar and Major K Manoj, were among those who were killed in the fire, reported India Today. The ammunition depot has the highest level of security, the report added.The ammunition depot at Pulgaon is Asia's second largest weapons depot. According to this report in NDTV, officials said the fire broke out due to secondary explosions around 1 am.

NDTV reported that over a 1,000 people have been evacuated from villages near Pulgaon Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is supposed to reach Pulgaon by Tuesday afternoon, NDTV report said.Reactions soon started pouring in. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis offered condolences to those injured and to the families of the bereaved.PM Modi tweeted that he was "Pained by loss of lives caused by a fire at central ammunition depot in Pulgaon, Maharashtra."Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis offered his condolences.I pray that those who are injured recover quickly. Have asked RM @manoharparrikar to visit the spot & take stock of the situation.

"Secondary fire and explosions cannot be ruled out now," the Army officer said refusing to go into the reasons of the fire.Army has ordered an inquiry into the incident.The central ammunition depot at Pulgaon is India's biggest ammunition depot as stocks from various factories comes here first and is then distributed to various forward areas. Pulgaon is 110 km from Nagpur.With inputs from PTI