Blast at firecracker factory kills 23
Reason unknown; victims were workers of the unit and the explosion took place when production was on
BHOPAL: At least 23 people were killed in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Balaghat, about 440km southeast of Bhopal, on Wednesday.
Superintendent of police Balaghat Amit Sanghi told HT that 23 people died in the explosion at the Barsa firecracker factory in Khari village.
He said the incident took place around 3pm after which senior officials from police and district administrations reached the spot. He said the cracker explosives kept bursting for some time after the blast. “Bodies were fished out of the rubble and the injured were sent to the hospital. Eight of them, who were severely injured, were sent to Nagpur for treatment, while two others are being treated at a local hospital here,” he said. The deceased were labourers who were working in the factory when the explosion took place. The blast sparked a blaze around 3pm, which firefighters tamed in two hours. Additional director general of police G Janardan said the explosion in Katera village was so powerful that the factory walls collapsed. Collector Balaghat Bharat Yadav said the reasons behind the explosion could not be known immediately. He said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. The cracker factory was owned by one Waris Ahmed and was being run legally, he said. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Wednesday compensation of ₹2 lakh for the families of the victims who died in the fire. The state government would also bear the medical expenses of the injured.Explosions in firecracker factories, as well as other manufacturing units, 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.
Despite the disasters and the great amount of attention to the dangerous working conditions, factories largely remain unsafe.A massive fire at a government-run fuel and grain depot in Madhya Pradesh killed 13 people in April. Later that month, five workers were burned to death in Jaipur after tonnes of molten rubber leaked at a tyre unit. In Hyderabad, six workers were burnt alive at an air conditioning manufacturing plant in February.