Blast at cracker factory, at least 22 die
At least 22 people were killed and several injured in an explosion inside a firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district on Wednesday.
A fire broke out inside the structure where the unit was running following the blast.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident took place due to the negligence of one of the workers who might have thrown a half-burnt bidi at the crackers dump, said police.
The factory is located on Nainpur road — around 5 km from the district headquarters —, police said.
There were around 40 employees inside the factory when explosion took place.
“An explosion in the firecracker factory at Katera village within Kotwali police station jurisdiction around 3.30 pm. The blast was so powerful that even factory walls collapsed due to the impact,” Additional Director General of Police G. Janardan said.
District collector Bharat Yadav said more workers could be inside the factory.
An inquiry was ordered to find out what triggered the explosion, Yadav said.
Explosions in cracker factories are common in India because of inadequate safety measures and regulations that are breached with impunity.
The biggest accident was the explosion at Om Sakthi Fireworks Industries factory in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, in September 2012. At least 40 people were killed and more than 70 injured. The factory did not have a valid licence.
Expressing his condolences over the incident, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next kin of the deceased.