15 feared dead in explosives factory fire in India

Police say a fire has engulfed a factory manufacturing explosives in southern India and 15 workers are feared dead and another three injured.

Police have recovered two bodies and the rescue work is continuing in the factory in Tiruchirappalli, a city in Tamil Nadu state.

The fire has been extinguished, AP reports.

The cause of Thursday's fire is being investigated. According to the Press Trust of India, the 25-year-old factory manufactured explosives for deepening and widening water wells in the rocky region.

PTI says a series of blasts in the factory created panic among people living in the area.

Tiruchirappalli is 325 kilometers (200 kilometers) south of Chennai, the Tamil Nadu state capital.