Five killed as blasting equipment misfires during road-widening work in Andhra Pradesh

Five individuals were killed in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju district on Saturday morning after explosive material misfired during road-widening activity, police said. The blast occurred in Pinakota village in Anantagiri mandal during rock blasting for road expansion.

“A special device equipped with gelatin sticks was used for the blasting of rocks for the road expansion works on the ghat road. However, the equipment misfired during the explosion,” the police said. Local revenue officials and police launched a rescue operation after reaching the incident site.

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Police noted that the explosion destroyed two vehicles. “The driver and three workers died in the accident. A teacher who was going in the opposite direction also lost his life,” a police officer said. Among the five victims, four have been identified so far: Sunitha, a teacher from Visakhapatnam; Mani, a worker from Devarapalli; Narayanarao, a worker from Chidikada; and Pavan Kumar, a worker from Kadapa.

Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha conveyed her deep grief over the incident and offered condolences to the bereaved families. She also spoke with the Alluri district collector and Superintendent of Police to get details on the circumstances of the incident.