At least 16 killed in massive blast at Punjab's Batala cracker factory

BATALA: At least 16 people were killed in a massive explosion at a cracker factory at Batala in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district on Wednesday.
Several others were feared trapped under the debris, PTI quoted Punjab Police as saying, adding that the rescue operation was underway.
The incident took place around 4pm at the factory located in a residential area, inspector general (Border Range) SPS Parmar said.
The impact of the blast was such that a few nearby buildings were damaged.
Over a dozen fire tenders from Gurdaspur and Amritsar are trying to douse the flames.
Senior district administrative officials of Gurdaspur have also reached the spot to monitor the situation.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock over the loss of life in the incident.

Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol too expressed grief over the incident.

According to sources, the firecrackers were being manufactured in the factory for a marriage ceremony, scheduled to be held on September 5.
With inputs from PTI