Kashmir depot blaze: 25 missing

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The Indian army says 25 people are still missing following a fire at an ammunition dump in the Kashmir Valley.

The fire broke out at the depot in Indian-administered Kashmir on Saturday but blasts continued until Monday. Five are confirmed dead and 30 injured.

About 30,000 people have fled homes and the army says it could take two months to clean up a 225sq km area around the ammunition dump.

Militants claimed to have started the fire but the army ruled out sabotage.

The army said 10 soldiers and 13 firemen were among the 25 people missing in the blaze at its largest arms dump in the region.

Homes fled

Although the fire has subsided, there were blasts late on Sunday night and the last explosion heard was on Monday morning.

Dozens were hurt in the blaze at the depot

The Indian army's general officer for the Northern Command, Lt Gen HS Panag, said the army would enter the ammunition depot 48 hours after the last explosion.

He said a 225sq km area around the ammunition depot would have to be cleared of bombs and other debris before people who have been evacuated would go back to their homes.

About 30,000 people fled their homes in dozens of villages around the ammunition depot.

Gen Panag said the initial clean-up operation would take seven days but could last for two months.

He said 10% of the ammunition of the Indian army's 15 Corps, which is based in Kashmir Valley, had been destroyed in the fire.

However, he said it would not dent the Indian army's defence preparedness as the army was too huge to be affected by the loss.

Gen Panag said militants could not have breached security to start a fire and that initial investigations had shown it was an accident.