Major fire breaks out in West Bengal's Panagarh army base

Panagarh (West Bengal), Mar 26(ANI): A major fire broke out in the arms and ammunition depot of the Indian Army base in Panagarh, West Bengal on Friday.

About 200 tonnes of arms and ammunition have been destroyed in the fire, triggering an investigation into possible sabotage, defence officials said.

No casualties were reported, but an inquiry has been ordered to assess the scale of damage.

Eyewitnesses said that they heard loud explosions from the base around 1a.m., which went on for two hours.

They added that the fire also spread panic among the villagers of neighbouring Budbud village.

"I was sleeping when I heard explosions and then saw the flames.

And there was sound of several blasts. People who were staying in nearby villages were running around. People were leaving their homes in panic. I took away my family and children to safer lace. My house was one kilometer away from that site," said Santosh Das, a local. (ANI)