Major fire in Army ammunition depot in Panagarh

A major fire broke out early on Friday in one of the largest ammunition depots of Indian Army at Panagarh in Burdwan district of West Bengal, gutting a store house containing a large number of small arms and ammunition.

“The fire broke out in shed number 16 (store house) of the depot at 1.30 am. Within five minutes, the entire fire fighting machinery of the Army was activated to battle the blaze,” Wing Commander M. Upasani of Eastern Command told PTI.

The fire was brought under control at around 3.30 am but the shed was totally destroyed, he said. There was no loss of life or injury, the defence spokesman said.

A crisis management team of the Army, led by Colonel A.D. Sethi, rushed to the site and controlled the fire, which destroyed a large number of small arms and ammunition, he said.

The Wing Commander said Maj Gen Chowdhury of the Eastern Command rushed to the site for an immediate probe. The cause of the fire was not known, he said.

Panagarh, about 120 kms from here, has one of the largest ammunition depots of the Indian Army and is also an important air force base.