A powerful accidental explosion at the Nowgam Police Station on the outskirts of Srinagar late Friday night killed nine people and injured 32 others, most of whom were police personnel and forensic experts. The blast occurred around 11:20 PM during the handling and examination of explosives seized in a major terror investigation.
Blast at Srinagar Nowgam Police Station kills 9
Reports say the FSL team, with help from experts, was packing leftover packets of ammonium nitrate and other chemicals for safe disposal when the deadly explosion happened. The tragedy took the lives of nine individuals, including an inspector from the SIA team of J-K, three FSL team members, two Crime Branch J-K Police personnel (photographers), two officials from the Revenue Department, and one civilian tailor.
Officials confirmed that the explosion happened while teams from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Jammu & Kashmir Police, and a Tehsildar were inspecting a large amount of explosive material. The explosives, mainly ammonium nitrate-based mixtures, recovered from Faridabad, Haryana, at the rented home of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie.
29 injured taken to hospital
Out of 360 kg of explosives seized from him, a large part stored at the Nowgam Police Station as part of the ongoing case. Authorities evacuated the injured to several hospitals across Srinagar. The deceased, whose bodies recovered early Saturday morning, have not yet officially identified and are now at the Police Control Room in Srinagar.
The explosion caused severe damage to the police station building, destroyed vehicles parked on the premises, and triggered smaller blasts that delayed rescue operations by bomb disposal teams.
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