Suryakant Jena

Bhadrak: Panic gripped RMC market in Bhadrak town today morning after a huge explosion rocked the complex destroying over 130 tonnes of bleaching powder.

Locals said they heard a loud explosion at the market complex and saw fire and smoke emitting out of the rooms when they rushed to the spot. The blast was so severe that it caused extensive damages to the walls, ceiling of the rooms and even burst the shutters of the building.

Soon after the incident, two fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

According to sources, over 130 tonnes of bleaching powder were stashed inside three rooms of the complex where the explosion took place. Sheikh Abdul Nazib, the owner of the chemical firm Misola Minerals Pvt Limited said that around 28 to 29 lakh of bleaching powder stock was gutted during the explosion.

Leading fireman of Bhadrak Fire Station, Harekrushna Mohapatra informed, "We received an input from Rural Town IIC about a huge explosion at the RMC godown in front of their police station. When we came to the spot, the whole area was at high temperature following the explosion. Since it is situated nearby a public locality, we took up sprinkling to bring down the temperature in the building so that it does not lead to fire outbreak to other areas."

Although the exact reason behind the explosion is not clear, fireman Mohapatra clarified, "Bleaching powder is not flammable by itself but due to some spontaneous reaction, the explosion might have occured."

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