20 Indian soldiers die as fire breaks out at India's largest arms depot

NEW DELHI: Firefighters were battling on Tuesday to extinguish a blaze in one of India's biggest arms depots, with 17 of those trapped in the blaze feared to have died, media said.

Indian television channels reported that as many as 17 people had been killed in the fire at the depot in Pulgaon, 600 km (373 miles) from Mumbai, the country's financial capital.

The fire broke out shortly after midnight, a regional official, Shailesh Nawal, told Reuters, adding that 17 people had been admitted to hospital, two of them in serious condition.

The cause of the fire is not known, Nawal said, adding that the tally of dead could not be confirmed since rescue teams had not been able to check all parts of the depot.