"blast"

About 20 workers belonging to Pulivendula, Badvel and Kasinayana mandals were working at the quarry and a few of them were engaged in unloading of the gelatin sticks.

Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to the Kadapa district officials and enquired about the explosion.

The workers had been part of a crew tasked with destroying the explosives, which can become unstable over time and unsafe to use.

Sheikh Afroz (7) and Sheikh Ibrahim (9) were playing near their house when they hit a packet in which the crude bombs were kept, triggering the blast.

Expressing shock over the incident, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said he has ordered a thorough investigation into the case.

The condition of four people, including a minor girl and a woman, is reported to be critical as they received 70 per cent to 95 per cent burns.

Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao, 33, succumbed to injuries suffered in the blast in the early hours of Sunday and nine commandos, were injured.

Preliminary investigation has found that a technical fault in a heavy machine inside the factory caused the high- intensity blast.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though suspicion immediately fell on the Taliban.

The incident took place during the departure of a 'baraat' in the Palda village under the Shahpur police station.