"As per preliminary information, eight persons were killed and seven injured in the blast," Nitin Gadkari told reporters

The blast took place around 10.30 am at the factory located at Jawahar Nagar, officials said

It led to fire and subsequent building collapse, and a National Disaster Response Force team was deployed immediately for a rescue operation, said an official release

Specialised equipment was being used for the rescue operation and efforts were on to ensure the safety of all involved, said the release issued by the NDRF

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident. All efforts were being made to provide assistance to the affected people, he said on X

"Deeply saddened to know about the blast at Ordnance Factory at Bhandara, Maharashtra. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said on X

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that 13 to 14 workers were stuck at the site

According to police and district authorities, the explosion occurred in the "LTP section". As per collector Kolte, 13 to 14 people were working in the unit at the time of the incident