Unbearable loss: Relatives reacting with grief over the death of their loved ones after explosives detonated inside a police station in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir. — AP
Nine people were killed and 31 injured when confiscated explosives accidentally blew up at a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said, just days after a car blast in Delhi killed a dozen people.
The incident happened in Nowgam, Srinagar, on Friday and the explosives at the police station were recovered from Faridabad in the northern state of Haryana the day before, just hours before the powerful blast in Delhi that killed 12 people.
Samples from the recovered material were being sent for further forensic examination since Thursday, the region’s director general of police Nalin Prabhat said, and the procedure was being handled with “utmost caution” due to its “unstable and sensitive nature”.
“However, unfortunately during this course (on Friday) around 11.20pm, an accidental explosion has taken place.
“Any other speculation into the cause of this incident is unnecessary,” he told reporters.
The victims included police personnel, forensic team members, two crime photographers and other members from the local administration.
“The building of the police station has been severely damaged and the adjacent buildings have been affected,” he added.
The explosion comes just days after a powerful blast on Monday killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 others in the Indian capital New Delhi.
It was the most significant security incident since April 22, when 26 mainly Hindu civilians were killed at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, triggering clashes with Pakistan.
India’s government on Wednesday vowed to bring the “perpetrators, their collaborators and their sponsors” of the deadly car blast in the heart of the capital to justice and called it an act of terrorism. — AFP
