NEW DELHI — A firefighter injured in the Pulgaon Central Ammunition Depot fire that killed 13 firefighters Tuesday said the deaths were avoided.
The firefighter, who spoke to the Hindu under the condition of anonymity, said that he was present near the shed where the blast took place; he is currently in the hospital.
“The admin officer Lieutenant Colonel R.S. Pawar and the Installation Security Officer Major K. Manoj asked us to keep trying to douse the fire at the one shed. After a point of time, it was clear that the shed would explode,” the firefighter said. “However, the officers did not ask us to move away. Our men could have been saved by timely orders from the officers. It was sheer luck that the fire did not spread to other sheds.”
Firefighter Chandramni Lade, who was present during the fire, confirmed the testimony. “When we reached the location of the fire, it was already out of control. So we decided to hide behind our vehicles and somehow managed to save our lives.”
Lade also claimed that several of his colleagues were still missing, although an official refuted the claim.
“I don’t think so. We would have received missing complaints by now. There is only a remote possibility of recovering more bodies from the depot. But nothing can be completely ruled out,” Wardha Collector Shailesh Nawal said.
Six bodies remain unidentified and could not yet be cremated due to “mutilation beyond recognition.”
“We are taking the help of forensic experts. The bodies are likely to be identified and cremated in the next two days,” Nawal said.