At least 40 persons were killed and at least 50 others were injured in a massive explosion near a busy bus stand in Petlawad town of Jhabua district on Saturday morning.

The police initially thought that LPG cylinders in Sethia restaurant exploded but later said explosives stored in the adjacent house went off killing most of its occupants.

The dead included at least eight to nine employees of the restaurant and customers who were having breakfast. The explosion was of very high intensity and affected nearby houses and vehicles.

Additional SP (Jhabua) Seema Alawa told The Indian Express that the toll could reach 40. She said 25 bodies had already been sent for post mortem.

Gelatin sticks and detonators were stored in the house that was rented. The house and the restaurant were completed damaged in the explosion. Rajendra Kumar Kaswa, the house owner, reportedly had a license.

Authorities said rescue work was on because some people could still be buried under the debris.

The injured were rushed to Ratlam, Indore and Jhabua.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured. Home Minister Babulal Gaur, who left for the spot with top bureaucrats and police officers, had said LPG cylinders kept in the restaurant exploded.

Meanwhile, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been dispatched to Jhabua to help in the salvage operations of the collapsed building. “A team equipped with gadgets to operate in collapsed structures has been sent to the accident site in Jhabua from Vadodara in Gujarat.

The team will assist local administration in retrieval operations,” NDRF Director General O P Singh told PTI in Delhi.

(The Indian Express)