Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa on Friday, 22 January, said that five people have died in the explosion at a quarry in Hunasodu village of Shivamogga that took place on Thursday, 21 January, night and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased.
The incident, in which a truck filled with gelatin sticks exploded at a gravel and boulder crushing facility, occurred around 10:20 pm on Thursday, night, resulting in mild tremors in and around Shivamogga.
The CM has also ordered a high-level probe into the blast. The site of the explosion comes under his home constituency of Shivamogga.
Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told ANI that the police have already arrested the quarry owner and the dynamite supplier.
“At the outset it seems a lot of quantity of dynamite has exploded there and there's been some negligence by the quarry owner and the operators,” he said.
PM Modi, Rahul Offer Condolences
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday offered his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in a tweet.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also took to Twitter and said similar tragedies can be avoided in the future.
Bomb Squad Dispatched
A senior officer said that the bomb squad has been dispatched to the site of the blast to ascertain if there are any remaining explosives.
The entire area has been sealed and senior police officer, including district superintendent of police, are currently at the site.
On Thursday, after tremors were felt in Shivamogga, authorities had suspected there was an earthquake. However, officials at the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Cell (KSNDMC) said that their observatories at Linganamakki, Mangaluru and Brahmavar (Udupi) have not recorded any earthquake.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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