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| 14 bodies recovered, 25 still missing | | Kundroo becomes mysterious bed of death, destruction | | Jammu/Srinagar: Two days after the devastating mysterious fire in the South Kashmir ammunition depot, though the blaze has been put under control but an uncertainty about the end to explosions still looms large. The human loss in the inferno has also not been fully calculated as more and more charred bodies are still being recovered from the debris while dozens still remained missing.
Though the officials did not confirm but according to the locals and eyewitnesses 14 bodies were recovered from the debris today. Officials, however, confirmed that 25 people are still missing and possibilities are that none among them is alive.
To share information with the public, the Northern Command's Commander, Lt Gen HS Panag told a news conference in Srinagar that the fire has been brought under control but worries still existed about the sporadic explosions of explosives which might have been fanned out in different directions due to the fire on Saturday.
Lt Gen Panag said, "At this juncture the last explosion took place today morning at 10:20 a.m. So, it will take us another 48 hours before we venture out into the explosive areas per se". .
Massive explosions triggered by the fire sent shells and shrapnel ripping through dozens of nearby villages. Thousands of villagers have since been moved to safety, as bomb disposal teams head to the area.
"Firstly, we want to clear the road, so that people can move. Secondly, we want to clear the nearby villages so that people can return," Lt. Gen. Panag said. According to preliminary investigations, the army believes the fire was an accident, but added that an investigation is still on.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has asked people not to pay any heed to rumours spread by vested interests about the fallout of the Khundroo incident saying these only add to the problems of the affected people.
Talking to Doordarshan about the incident, the Chief Minister said that it was not possible at this hour to say what had happened inside the ammunition depot. He said until the situation eased and experts were able to go inside, any talk about the quantum of damage the incident caused to property or human life was only a speculation. He said the senior army officers had told him yesterday that in view of the risks involved they might not be able to go inside the depot for a couple of days. He said it was not possible to say what might have happened to the army personnel, army fire brigade employees or those working in the ammunition depot.
The Chief Minister said that the army commander was scheduled to visit the site today to take stock of the situation and see how soon they could go inside to ascertain the damage caused by the eruption of the ammunition depot. "We will have to wait for the inspection teams to visit inside the area and report the extent of the damage", he said.
Azad appealed the people not to pay any attention to rumours that might be spread by vested interests who thrive on unfortunate situations. He said the rumours only add to the inconvenience of the people, especially the affected population. He urged the people to cooperate with the administration in its efforts to provide relief to the villagers affected by the unfortunate incident.
The Chief Minister asked the people of the affected villages who have been evacuated to safer places, not to rush back to their homes till the area was cleared of unexploded ammunition. He said joint teams of army, police and civil administration have been set up to survey the villages for unexploded ammunition which would be subsequently defused by experts. He said people should not touch any suspicious object which they might notice as doing so could endanger their lives.
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