Massive Accidental Blast Devastates Nowgam Police Station; Casualties Feared; Terror Incident Ruled Out

NL Correspondent

Srinagar: A powerful explosion rocked the Nowgam Police Station complex in Srinagar late Friday night, with initial reports indicating that the blast was extremely loud and heard within a radius of several kilometres upto Dal Gate, Karan Nagar and down town. The explosion triggered at 11.30 pm reportedly accidentally when the Ammonium Nitrate and other explosive material were analysed by the Forensic team. The explosion caused a massive fire, sending flames soaring high and illuminating the surrounding neighbourhoods. Heavy impact was felt in the surrounding residential area of Nowgam and alongside Athwazan –Baramulla highway.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that eight to ten officials are feared dead and many others critically injured, who were shifted to nearby hospitals.

The adjoining Athwajan–Baramulla highway, link roads, and the area around the incident site have been cordoned off and sealed. Senior police officers and civil administration officials have reached the spot and taken control of the situation. The State Disaster Relief (SDR) team has also arrived and begun rescue operations, removing debris to locate any possible injured personnel beneath. Fire tenders were rushed to the site to douse the blaze. The critically injured were shifted to Army’s 92 Base Hospital for treatment.

Senior police officers have ruled out any terror angle, confirming that it was an accidental blast that occurred while the FSL and police teams were conducting forensic analysis of samples. According to news agency PTI, the officials were extracting samples from a massive cache of explosives recently seized in Haryana’s Faridabad in connection with the ‘white-collar’ terror module case.

Several vehicles in the compound were damaged. Multiple fire tenders were deployed soon after the incident, and all roads leading to the police station have been closed.

The Nowgam Police Station has been at the centre of a sensitive probe into an inter-state terror module linked to the recent Delhi blast and the Faridabad module. The first FIR in that investigation was registered at this station, underscoring its importance in the ongoing case.

Early assessments pointed to extensive destruction within the compound. Several vehicles were gutted in the blaze, and significant portions of the building appeared severely damaged. Officials confirmed “massive damage,” though the complete extent is still being evaluated. Casualties are feared, but authorities have yet to issue any official figures.

Eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage show the explosion tearing through the station in the early hours between Friday night and Saturday, with thick smoke and towering flames visible from a distance as emergency teams rushed to the scene.

(This is a breaking news story. More details are awaited.)