Anxious relatives of the victims of a blast at an explosives manufacturing factory in Maharashtra's Nagpur district gathered outside the unit on Sunday to seek more information about their kin.

The bodies of the nine workers killed in the blast were still inside the premises, according to sources.

A number of ambulances were stationed at the entrance gate of the Solar Industries factory.

A tense situation prevailed as locals and family members of the victims gheraoed the factory's entrance gate.

They shouted and demanded that they be allowed to enter the factory premises, where the blast took place at 9 am, leaving nine people dead and injuring three others.

The father of Aarti Sahare, who is among the deceased, told reporters that he got a message about the death of her daughter at 9.30 am and was still waiting for further information.

Heavy police security was deployed at the spot.

The blast also caused severe damage to the factory building, as per police.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a post on X termed the incident as unfortunate and condoled the death of the nine people.

The state government will provide an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has approved the decision, he said.

Fadnavis said nine people, including six women, died in the blast at Solar Industries.

It is a company that manufactures drones and explosives for the armed forces, he said.

The state government stands firmly with families of the victims on this sad occasion, he said.

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