Blast in ‘sealed’ cracker factory in Gzb kills five
GHAZIABAD: Five people were killed on Friday after chemicals stored in an illegal fireworks manufacturing unit exploded in Farrukhnagar-Asalatpur in Ghaziabad.
Officials said that the factory continued to operate illegally despite a November 2016 order by Supreme Court to shut it down.
Sources said the factory was operated by one Pappu Kumar, 55, who was allegedly present on the premises with several other persons when the explosion took place on Friday afternoon.
Police said Kumar and three others were killed at the spot. The body of a fifth person was recovered from the terrace . The four other deceased were identified as Sagir, 40, Rafiq, 60, Ashfaq, 38 and Kutub, 50.
“The explosion was of such high intensity that many bodies were dismembered. We found body parts strewn in an area of almost 50 metres around the blast site,” said Prem Ranjan Singh, subdivisional magistrate, Loni. Officials said fire tenders and police personnel rushed to the spot after being informed. “The factory was operating illegally on a plot of land. We are in the process of lodging an FIR against the land owner who leased out the plot. We have nearly 60 factories in the area that have been sealed. We will check each one of them now to figure out if the owners have been operating it despite the ban,” Singh added.The bodies of the deceased were sent for postmortem. Deputy inspector general (Meerut), KS Emmaneul, was also expected to pay a visit to the area . “We have ordered an inquiry by an ASP, “Emmaneul said.
“The bang of the explosion was heard for several kilometers. The bodies of the people who were killed were blown into pieces,” said Sanjay Goswami, a local resident.