Maharashtra: Fire breaks out during Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav in Pune; no injuries

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A fire broke out during the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav, an annual Indian classical music festival, in Pune city of Maharashtra on Sunday, the officials said, reported the PTI.

The blaze was put out quickly, said fire officials, the news agency reported.

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The fire did not spread and no one was injured in the incident, they said.

According to a fire official, a piece of cloth in the 'mandap' caught fire after a short circuit in the power generator around 4.15 pm, as per the PTI.

"A person in the audience tried to douse it using a fire extinguisher. However, a fire department team deployed at the venue immediately rushed to the spot and put out the fire and ensured that it did not spread further," the official said, according to the PTI.

Nobody was injured in the blaze, he added.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, as many as nine people were killed and three others seriously injured in a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Chakdoh in Maharashtra's Nagpur on Sunday, police said, as per the PTI.

In a statement, Ashish Srivastava, senior general manager of Solar Industries India Limited, said, "A tragic incident occurred at 9am in building number HR-CPCH-2 (Mixing, Melting and Casting) in which nine workers lost their lives."

Angry locals and relatives of workers blocked the Amravati-Nagpur highway running along the site of the explosives manufacturing unit, with may shouting slogans and demanding access to the premises so that they could see the bodies of their loved ones.

A mob of around 200 persons also stood outside the gate, while police tried to pacify they and asked them disperse.

A senior police official told PTI that there were explosives near the spot and the process of securing the explosives was underway and, thereafter, the bodies will be recovered, a police official said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde arrived at the site some time after 9:15 pm and spoke to kin of the deceased. He took information about the incident from civic, police and company officials, a District Information Office release said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister too visited the blast site and spoke to relatives of the deceased. In a message on social media platform X, Fadnavis said the state government will provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the dead, while the amount from the company would be Rs 20 lakh each.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who visited the spot, said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

(with PTI inputs)