Pre-WW II ammunition caused Sunday blast

The Sunday blast that had created a scare in the suburbs was actually one from the past. Investigating into the recovery of several kilos of ammunition in Thiruvallur district found that the material belonged to pre-World War II period, with no potential security threat other than causing accidental blasts.

A blast in the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu land, near a Lankan refugee camp, in Gummidipoondi on Sunday, had left two persons injured.

According to police, Yogendaran, an inmate of the camp, had thrown a cigarette butt on a pile of scrap metal near an abandoned well. A blast followed. Officials had doubted that it could be an arms dump of the LTTE. However, fears turned out to be unfounded, as the ammunition was part of a load of scrap abandoned in the vacant land, said senior officials.