5 killed in firecracker factory blast

Five people were killed and 30 injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker unit in Bihar’s Nalanda district late on Thursday night, police said.

Expressing grief over the incident, chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered an inquiry into the incident. He also issued instructions for providing adequate medical assistance to the injured.

A two-member team, comprising Patna divisional commissioner Anand Kishor and deputy inspector general (central range) Rajesh Kumar, has been formed to conduct the inquiry.

The explosion occurred at around 10.30pm at a house in Khasganj village in the district from where a man, identified as Mohamad Sarfaraz, allegedly ran the illegal unit.

Police said Sarfaraz used to live in the house in Sohsarai police station area, 76km southeast of Patna, as a tenant. The dead included Sarfaraz’s two daughters — one-month-old Sumera and three-year-old Taniq Fatima — three-year-old son Sartaz and sister Shaista. The fifth victim has been identified as Munna Pandit, 28.

Police said about 30 people were injured as the explosion damaged many structures in the crowded residential locality.

The seriously injured were admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), they added.

Police said a bomb disposal team had also confirmed that an illegal unit was running from the house.

“India has a huge demand for firecrackers and it has gone up ahead of Ramnavami, which will be celebrated on March 25,” police said. “The blast site has been cordoned off and we sought assistance from the forensic team to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion as well as nature of explosives,” Nalanda district magistrate Thiyagrajan SM said.

Sarfaraz’s another minor son Mohammad Ejaj, who was injured in the blast, told reporters at PMCH that his father was trying to light an incense stick when inflammable material stored inside caught fire and exploded. Almost at the same time, an LPG cylinder also exploded in the neighbouring house, he added.

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