Bhopal: Thirteen people, including five women, were burnt alive and four critically injured after a barrel of kerosene exploded in a cramped ration shop in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday evening.Villagers claim the death toll is 18. Firemen are literally raking through the pile of burnt out debris to check for bodies. First responders reported bodies burnt to a cinder, some hurled outside the shop. This comes just two days after a massive explosion in a firecracker shop killed seven people in Indore.The Prime Minister's office offered condolences, tweeting: "I pray that those who are injured due to the fire in Chhindwara recover quickly. State government is closely monitoring the situation." Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those killed. "Reports of deaths during kerosene distribution in Harrai cooperatives centre are painful. I pray to the almighty to give peace to the departed souls and early recovery of those injured," tweeted Chouhan.Friday's blast took place in Bargi village, around 82km from the district headquarters and 300km southeast of Bhopal. More than 50 people from nine villages had queued up at Bargi's fair price shop to collect kerosene and other food items. Even in late afternoon, it was unbearably hot and there people squeezed into the shop to get out of the sun. Around 4.55pm, an explosion tore through the crowd, killing 10 of them instantly. The blast was so powerful that it flung many of those waiting outside off their feet.It also ignited a blaze in the room. The doorway was instantly engulfed in flames, cutting off the only escape route. The impact of the blast and the fire brought down walls on three sides but no one could get out because the entire room turned into a fireball, say witnesses.Villagers fear the body count will rise. "The room was jam packed. There were at least 25 people inside," said DIG G K Pathak. Witnesses say no one inside the shop survived. The dead include the salesman. Two persons standing at the door suffered grade-IV burns. They are being treated at Narsinghpur.Bargi is located on NH-347 and there are two fire stations 5km either way. Firemen arrived in 20 minutes.The cause of the blast is not yet known. "It could be anything from a short circuit to a carelessly lit cigarette. I have alerted the electricity department and forensic officials to investigate the site in detail," Pathak said. District collector J K Jain said an inquiry has been ordered. "A compensation of Rs 4 lakh has been announced for family members of the deceased," Jain said."There were around 100 litres of kerosene inside the drum at that time. This was half its capacity. More people would have died if the drum was full," said the collector. Local sources however say that there were more drums filled with 300 litres of kerosene inside the room other than the one that had 100 litres for distribution.Chhindwara SP Gaurav Tiwari told TOI that immediate steps were taken to deal with the situation. While Tiwari said 13 people died, villagers claimed that five more are missing. Minister in charge of the district, Gauri Shankar Bisen, said he has ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter.

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