Shivamogga dynamite blast at mining quarry kills eight people; area cordoned off

As many as eight people were killed in a dynamite blast at a stone mining quarry in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district on Friday, said district collector (DC) KB Shivakumar. The blast took place near a gravel and boulder crushing facility around 10.30 pm, leading to shockwaves not only in Shivamogga, but also in nearby districts like Chikkamagaluru and Davangere.  Some window panes were also shattered in several houses due to the magnitude of the blast, as per eye witnesses. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and extended his condolences to the victims of the blast and also assured that the Karnataka government is doing everything possible to assist the affected people. 

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It was earlier mistaken to be an earthquake

The tremors caused due to the blast was earlier mistaken to have been caused by an earthquake, which led to some locals in nearby areas rushing out of their homes. Some geologists were approached, who ruled out recording tremors in any of their observatories. "There was no earthquake. But an explosion did take place at Hunsur on the outskirts of Shivamogga under the Rural Police station limits," a police officer told PTI. 

Another police officer said, "There has been a blast in a truck carrying gelatin. Six labourers in the truck were found dead. The vibrations were felt locally." He added that the death toll might increase. The victims were reportedly transporting the explosives meant for mining when the explosion occurred. The vehicle was badly mangled and the bodies of the victims were dismembered beyond recognition.

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Senior district and police officials including the superintendent of police of Shivamogga rushed to the spot. "Nobody should be worried about anything. Entire district team is on alert. Whatever the information people get are requested to be shared with local administration officer. SP and ASP are deployed here. No idea of MLAs of MPs visit. We don't know if there's live dynamite. It's dark, we need a bit of light. We have cordoned off the area," said the Shivamogga DC. 

(With Agency Inputs)

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