At least 89 people have been killed and 100 injured after a gas explosion tore through a packed restaurant in central India.

Dozens of office workers and schoolchildren were having breakfast in the popular restaurant in the town of Petlawad, in Madhya Pradesh state, when a gas cylinder exploded.

The explosion triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, according to police sources, at around 8.30am local time (4am GMT).

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Horrific blast: At least 89 people have been killed and 42 injured after a gas explosion tore through a packed restaurant in central India

High fatalities: The explosion triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, according to police sources, at around 8.30am local time (4am GMT), virtually destroying structures in the street

Painful injuries: 42 people were wounded in the blast which left bodies scattered in the street as residents rushed to try and help those who were hurt

Scenes of woe: People on the street were left shocked and confused after the explosions which ripped apart entire buildings in the town of Petlawad

Crowd control: Police struggled to hold back the hundreds of onlookers and family members desperate for news of their loved ones, and were forced to cordon off the area

Senior district police official Seema Alava, said: ‘The restaurant was in a tightly-packed locality and a lot of people were here having breakfast, that is why the casualties are so high.’

He added: ‘It looks like someone had stored those explosives, the ones used in mining, in one of the buildings. But only further investigation will reveal the exact details.’

Scores of people and rescue workers used their bare hands to dig through heaps of mangled steel and concrete, hunting for survivors and bodies.

Police inspector Mewa Lal Gond said earlier today that rescue workers have so far pulled 82 bodies form the wreckage but the death toll is now believed to have risen to 89.

It looks like someone had stored those explosives, the ones used in mining, in one of the buildings. But only further investigation will reveal the exact details. Senior district police official Seema Alava

Most of those killed in the explosions were poor laborers. Their families were likely to cremate the bodies later Saturday.

Around 100 other people were injured in the blasts and were taken to hospitals, Gond said.

Many of those injured or killed in the blast were waiting at a busy bus stand, located just metres from the restaurant.

Police struggled to hold back the hundreds of onlookers and family members desperate for news of their loved ones, and were forced to cordon off the area.

The frantic crowds severely hampered the access of ambulances and other emergency vehicles, and had to be forced back to allow a bulldozer to reach the restaurant.

State health official Arun Sharma said doctors at a nearby government hospital had conducted autopsies of 60 victims, and the bodies have been returned to the victims’ families.

Another police source, who didn’t want to be named, added that the intensity of the blast had also destroyed a neighbouring building and caused extensive damage to others.

Desperate efforts: Scores of people and rescue workers used their bare hands to dig through heaps of mangled steel and concrete, hunting for survivors and bodies

Loss of life: Bodies littered the ground following the horrific explosion. India’s President Pranab Mukherjee has expressed his grief at the double loss of life in his country today, with the restaurant explosion in Madhya Pradesh and a train derailment in Karnataka

Scene of devastation: The restaurant explosion happened in the town of Petlawad, in Madhya Pradesh state, which is 590 miles south of New Delhi

Residents were evacuated from several adjoining buildings that were damaged in the blasts.

The region’s Home Minister Babu Lal Gaur has ordered an investigation into the explosion, according to the DNA India news website.

India’s President Pranab Mukherjee has expressed his grief at the double loss of life in his country today, with the restaurant explosion in Madhya Pradesh and a train derailment in Karnataka.

‘I am sad to known about the gas cylinder explosion this morning in Jhabua district in which a large number of people have lost their lives and many others are injured,’ he said in a message to Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav.

‘Please convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.

‘I wish speedy recovery to all the injured persons.’

Desperate efforts: Rescue workers have so far pulled 82 bodies form the wreckage, according to police inspector Mewa Lal Gond

Frantic: People dug through the rubble to try and locate and help anyone who may be trapped in the wreckage after the explosions, which police believe are used by miners for blasting operations

He also said he hoped that authorities would provide all possible aid to the bereaved families and medical assistance to the injured.

While explosions of domestic gas cylinders are relatively common in India, where safety standards are poor, casualties to this extent are unusual.

The explosive materials, that police believe caused vast swathes of the damage, are used by miners for blasting operations.

Several manganese and bauxite mines are located in Jhabua district, and many mine workers are hired on contract from Petlawad, which is 590 miles south of New Delhi.

Local police officer Kamlesh Bamaniya said a local contractor, Rajendra Kashawa, had been given a license to purchase detonators for his business of digging wells, but had stored the detonators illegally in a room adjacent to the restaurant.