Mangaluru, Sept. 30 -- A huge explosion occurred at the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) facility in Mangaluru on Wednesday, prompting fire brigade vehicles and ambulances to rush to the spot.

According to a resident, the incident occurred at around 12:30 pm when a loud explosion was heard, which caused the windows of his residence as well as the nearby Panchayat building to shatter due to the impact of the sound emanating from the refinery.

"Windows of my house and the Panchayat building broke due to a loud sound at around 1230 hours. We don't know what happened inside," said one local.

The resident further stated that this was the first time an explosion of such magnitude had been heard in the area.

"This huge blast ...