Eight persons were killed in a blast at an ordnance factory in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district on Friday, said Union minister Nitin Gadkari.

The explosion took place in the LTP section of the factory situated in the Jawahar Nagar area at around 10 30 AM. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier said that 13 to 14 workers were stuck after the roof of a unit collapsed in the blast.

District Collector Sanjay Kolte said 13 to 14 people were working in the unit at the time of the incident. He said six people were brought out, of whom one person died, and the others were undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Rescue operations were underway for seven to eight persons trapped in the debris.

Fire brigade, police and local disaster teams were deployed at the scene.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in a post on X said, “Deeply saddened to know about the blast ot Ordnance Factory at Bhandara, Maharashtra. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. The rescue teams are deployed at the site. All efforts are being made to provide assistance to those who are affected.”