Mangaluru (Karnataka), Mar 4 (PTI) An explosion occurred at a stone quarry in Madattadka village, Dakshina Kannada district on Tuesday, allegedly after a cache of gelatin sticks stored for rock blasting detonated due to extreme heat, police said.

The incident, which took place at around 1.30 pm in Bantwal taluk, caused at least two houses within 100 meters of the explosion's epicentre to develop cracks due to its intensity, they added.

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The sound and tremors from the explosion were also felt within a 4-kilometre radius of the village. Additionally, 15 other houses located within a 1-kilometre radius of the epicentre sustained damage, police said.

According to preliminary reports, the explosion was triggered by intense heat affecting a cache of gelatin sticks stored for rock blasting. Approximately 200 gelatin sticks and detonators had been kept in the middle of a pile of crushed stones in the quarry.

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The quarry belonged to a company engaged in stone quarrying in the village.

Senior police officers, including Superintendent of Police Yathish N and officials from the Bantwal police station, along with taluk officials, visited the site and conducted an investigation.

A probe is underway to determine whether the storage of explosives was legal.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)