‘Everything devastated, dead bodies lying around': Witness recalls horror of Nowgam police station blast | VIDEO

Srinagar: An accidental explosion ripped through Nowgam police station late Friday night, killing eight people and injuring 27 others, including several police and forensic personnel, officials said on Saturday. The blast occurred while experts were extracting samples from a large cache of explosives confiscated during the probe into the so-called ‘white-collar’ terror module case.

Tariq Ahmed, who claims to have witnessed the incident, described scenes of devastation and panic. “We heard a loud explosion and could not figure out what it was. When we saw people running out crying, we knew something terrible had happened inside the police station,” he told reporters. “Everything was devastated… there was a lot of smoke, dead bodies lying around. Our people and neighbours have died — this is a huge loss for us.”

Another local resident said, "My house is the third house from the site. We don’t have any information right now about the civilian casualties... All the houses in the vicinity have been damaged.”

Officials confirmed that eight bodies have been recovered from the site and shifted to the Police Control Room in Srinagar. At least 24 policemen and three civilians have been admitted to different hospitals across the city for treatment.

According to preliminary reports, the explosion took place during the handling of explosive material brought from Haryana’s Faridabad. The material formed part of the 360 kilograms of explosives recovered from the rented residence of arrested doctor Muzammil Ganaie, who was linked to the white-collar terror module. Forensic teams were sampling the seized chemicals — including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur — when the mishap occurred.

The massive blast damaged the police station building and shattered windows in nearby structures. Successive smaller explosions following the initial blast hampered early rescue operations by the bomb disposal squad.

Police sources said that while part of the seized explosives had been sent to the forensic laboratory, a major portion was kept at Nowgam Police Station, where the main case against the terror network was registered.