At least nine people were killed and 29 injured when a stockpile of seized explosives detonated at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar late Friday. Most victims were police and forensic personnel, and two Srinagar administration officials also died; five remain critically injured. Authorities said some bodies were burned beyond recognition and warned the toll could rise as investigators continue identification and an inquiry into how the cache exploded. The incident follows recent security operations that recovered nearly 3,000kg of explosives and followed a deadly car blast in New Delhi.
Seized Explosives Detonate at Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar, Killing Nine
At least nine people were killed and 29 injured when a stockpile of seized explosives detonated at the Nowgam police station in Srinagar late Friday. Most victims were police and forensic personnel, and two Srinagar administration officials also died; five remain critically injured. Authorities said some bodies were burned beyond recognition and warned the toll could rise as investigators continue identification and an inquiry into how the cache exploded. The incident follows recent security operations that recovered nearly 3,000kg of explosives and followed a deadly car blast in New Delhi.
12:09 PM, 11/15/2025Security
Seized Explosives Detonate at Nowgam Police Station in Srinagar, Killing Nine
At least nine people were killed and 29 injured late on Friday after a cache of seized explosives unexpectedly detonated inside the Nowgam police station, south of Srinagar, the main city of Indian-administered Kashmir. Authorities say most of the victims were police officers and members of a forensic team examining the material; two Srinagar administration officials were also among the dead.
Officials and unnamed sources told Reuters and local media that identification efforts are under way and that some bodies were burned beyond recognition. Five people remain in critical condition, and the death toll could rise as investigations continue.
"The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100–200 metres away from the police station," a source told Reuters.
NDTV quoted police and its senior executive editor Aditya Raj Kaul saying the incident was "not a terror attack" but a tragic accident that occurred while police and a forensics team were inspecting the stored explosive material.
The blast comes days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi that killed at least 12 people near the Red Fort. Police said that attack involved suspects linked to Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and triggered extensive security operations; in the wider inquiry, authorities in Kashmir detained more than 650 people and recovered nearly 3,000 kilograms of explosives.
Police have said the Nowgam station had been investigating posters attributed to JeM warning of attacks on security forces and "outsiders," and described uncovering a suspected "white-collar terror ecosystem" involving radicalised professionals and students reportedly in contact with handlers abroad.
Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since 1947, and the incident occurs against longstanding tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad over the region's status.
Investigations are ongoing; authorities have not released the names of the deceased pending notification of next of kin.