Packages of ammunition that were being unloaded from railway wagons exploded at Bharoli railway station in the Pathankot military area at 8.15am on February 24, 1958, sparking a tragedy that killed an estimated 52 people.
The impact of the explosion was so great that wagons were blown to pieces, and bodies were thrown a long distance away. The explosion was followed by a serious fire, which could be controlled only after one hour by the fire brigade. The flames could be seen from a long distance, and thick columns of smoke reduced visibility to just one foot.
Military officers rushed to the scene to supervise the firefighting operations as the area was cordoned off, and rail and road traffic between Pathankot and Gurdaspur was suspended.
Gurdaspur deputy commissioner Bhopinder Singh, who returned from the scene of the tragedy on the night of incident, told mediapersons that 13 bodies had been traced till that time, and search parties were continuing their operations.
Union defence minister VK Krishna Menon went to Pathankot the next day to visit the scene of the explosion and to assess the damage caused by it.
{{/usCountry}}Union defence minister VK Krishna Menon went to Pathankot the next day to visit the scene of the explosion and to assess the damage caused by it.
{{/usCountry}}Upon his return from Pathankot, Menon briefed the Lok Sabha of the available facts, putting the number of deceased at 18 civilians and eight army personnel.
“As far as can be ascertained at present, 18 civilians and eight army personnel are known to be dead. The bodies of 23 of the dead have been recovered. Three of the dead cannot be removed from the wagon, where their bodies now are, without risking further explosions,” he said, adding that 28 civilian employees were missing.
“It is not known how many of these have died in the explosion. It is, however surmised by the army authorities that some of these who are local civilian employees may have run away to their villages and the civil police are making efforts to trace them.”
The following day, unofficial sources said that 26 of the missing were also presumed dead, taking the toll to 52.
Expressing deep regret, Menon told the Lower House that the tragic incident occurred at the Ordnance Rail Head Group at Pathankot.
“Six railway wagons containing ammunition and other defence stores were on the military siding, ready for unloading. Not long after the unloading began, there was an explosion. Two of the wagons containing ammunition were completely blown off, three others are badly damaged while the sixth wagon appears at present not to have been seriously affected,” he said.
“No lives were lost as a result of the fire... Fire parties from all the units in the station, with the prompt aid of the civil fire brigade, put out the fire in less than an hour,” the defence minister told the Lower House.
“Field ambulance with the necessary medical and nursing staff and blood donors of the military hospital also reached the spot within a few minutes of the explosion, and the casualties, both defence and civilian, were removed to the military hospital speedily. In the face of constant danger of further explosions taking place, the fire fighting crew, together with the personnel in the depot and from the neighbouring defence units and the local civil authorities carried out rescue operations with commendable speed, courage and efficiency,” he said.
A resident of Daulatpur was stated to have lost his three sons in the explosion. The bodies were cremated on the bank of the Dhakki with full military honours.
The defence minister said at the time that the reason for the explosion was yet to be ascertained, and informed the house that a court of inquiry was ordered according to Army Rules.