In this photograph taken early May 31, 2016, fire burns at an Indian Army ammunition facility in Pulgaon, some 100 km southwest of Nagpur. AFP photo

Pulgaon, June 1

Two more bodies were recovered on Wednesday from the site of the fire mishap at central ammunition depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district, taking the death toll to 18.Three people were missing since Tuesday. Two bodies have been recovered and one person is still missing, sources told PTI.The bodies recovered on Wednesday were yet to be identified, they said.

A massive fire broke out on Tuesday at one of Asia’s biggest ammunition depot in Maharashtra’s Pulgaon that houses the largest stockpile of weapons in the country.The fire occurred in the wee hours at one of the sheds that housed “highly sensitive ammunition” in the high-security central ammunition depot (CAD), spread over 7,000 acres.“However, in efforts to douse the fire, two officers and 14 personnel (one Army jawan and 13 civilian fire fighting staff) lost their lives and two officers and 15 personnel (nine Army jawans and six civilian firefighting staff) were injured,” Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen Ranbir Singh had said.Loud explosions were heard one after the other as the raging fire lit up the night sky.The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and the Army has instituted an inquiry into the incident, Singh had said.Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said there was no sabotage involved in the fire at the ammunition depot but the exact cause would be known only after inquiry.Parrikar, along with Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, had visited CAD, Pulgaon and met the injured people in a local hospital. PTI