A fire destroyed a large cache of arms and ammunition Friday at one of the army's largest ammunition depots in eastern India, officials and news reports said, , according to dpa. The fire occurred at the depot in Panagarh in the eastern state of West Bengal, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. "The fire was brought under control early Friday but the shed was totally destroyed," air force official M Upasani was quoted as saying by PTI news agency. The ammunition depot was located near an Indian Air Force base. A series of explosions was heard after the fire broke out late Thursday. Residents of 20 villages near the arms depot were moved to the local railway station. The Defence Ministry in New Delhi said there was no loss of life or injury in the incident and ruled out any possibility of sabotage. The Panagarh arms and ammunition depot contained about 200 tons of ammunition. In total there are eight such depots in India, according to the Defence Ministry.
