An incident of bomb explosion occurred, involving old ammunition awaiting disposal, on 25th March, 2017 at one of the buildings of F-3 Section of Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK), in Jabalpur. A Board of Enquiry (BOE) has been constituted at OFK to enquire the incident and assess the extent of damage / loss. No casualty occurred due to the incident.
Ordnance Factories have been directed to conduct a thorough review of safety systems and procedures and following steps have been taken:
•Before storing the unserviceable explosives / ammunition in the Magazines, ensure compatibility of the explosives.
•Ammunition to be stored on wooden dunnages in properly stacked manner.
•Periodical opening of the magazines for sufficient ventilation for passing of the air and the record thereof should be maintained.
•Windows for ventilation should be made of wire mesh glass.
•Unauthorized / rejected / unserviceable ammunition / explosives should not be stored in the magazines.
•Rejected / obsolete ammunition to be disposed of periodically and record should be maintained.
•The surrounding of the building should be cleaned of dry grass, fallen leaves, wild growth, etc.
This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply to Shri Motilal Vora in Rajya Sabha today.