India Space Center Blast Kills Six

An explosion set off a fire Monday at India's main space center, killing at least six people, police said.

Flames erupted at the solid propellant plant at the government's Dhawan Space Center, on Sriharikota Island just off India's southeastern coast, the center's spokesman, K. Ravindran, told The Associated Press.

Six people have died in the fire, according to police officials in the Nellore district in coastal Andhra Pradesh state, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ravindran did not immediately confirm the casualty figure.

The island is about 60 miles from Madras, the largest city in the region.

"Some people have been hurt. We don't know the extent of their injuries. They are under medical supervision now," Ravindran said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.

The space center is the main launch base of the Indian Space Research Organization and has been used to launch several Indian, German, Korean and Belgian satellites.

The center processes solid propellants used in satellites, conducts ground tests and has launchpads for rockets.

India has looked increasingly into space in recent years, and top officials have vowed to put an Indian astronaut on the moon.

Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla was among those who died just over a year ago on the Columbia space shuttle.