At least 35 people were injured on Saturday when a fierce fire broke out at an ammunition depot in India-administrated Kashmir, local security sources informed.

According to an army spokesman, 15 soldiers were injured along with civilians and members of the rescue teams arrived at the site. The depot belongs to the Indian military and contains large quantities of ammunition, prompting authorities to evacuate all persons on a radius of five kilometers.

The depot located in the Anantnag district is the largest in Jammu and Kashmir state. A militant group claimed it’s responsible for the explosion that allegedly triggered the savage fire.

Authorities haven’t established the incident’s cause and said they are focusing on containing the blaze and evacuating the population, as thick smoke was rising from the depot where shells continued to explode.

Locals said they heard an loud explosion and them shells began ripping through the air, statements that could confirm the militants’ hypothesis. But the exact cause will be determined after firemen manage to quell the savage flames, operation estimated at lasting another 24 hours.

Kashmir is frequently the site of intense clashes between security forces and separatists, the Indian government deploying a large number of troops in the state in order to maintain law and order.

But even so, at least 60,000 civilians, troopers and militants have been killed since the conflict erupted back in 1989.