Blast in explosives godown in Vellore; three vehicles damaged

The building collapsed to the ground, and three vans parked near the building were damaged.

Three vans were burnt and a calf was killed after an explosion in an explosives godown at Arjunapuram village near Gudiyatham town in Vellore on Thursday.

The police said that S. Padmanaban, 42, runs a stone quarry operator in K.V. Kuppam area. He has a vast open land in Arjunapuram village where he stored raw materials to make explosives in a licensed godown in the land. The explosives are used for blasting in stone quarry units.

Police said that a special police team attached with Katpadi police seized raw materials used to manufacture fire crackers from a house in Katpadi recently. The seized raw materials were stored at the private explosives godown in Arjunapuram village near Gudiyatham to prevent any untowards incidents. Around 50 kg of raw materials to manufacture explosives were stored in the godown.

Police said around 2 a.m, residents heard an explosion from the godown. The building collapsed to the ground, and three vans parked near the building were damaged.

Based on an alert from residents, K.V. Kuppam police and experts from the explosives unit at District Police inspected the spot. A case was registered. A probe is underway.