Panic struck the residents of Hire Bagewadi village in Belagavi district on Tuesday after a low-intensity explosion of gelatin sticks at a stone crusher site.
The loud sound alarmed several villagers, prompting them to call the police and Fire and Emergency Services.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities discovered that local farmers had set fire to a pile of trash on a hillock. A spark from the fire spread to a shed at the crusher site, igniting a gelatin stick stored there.
Fire and Emergency Services quickly extinguished the blaze. The crusher is owned by businessman Uday Shivakumar.
