Eighteen people were killed and many injured in a blaze in a firecracker factory at Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab on Wednesday.
Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner, Vipul Ujwal told The Hindu that 18 people died in the incident. “Rescue operations are underway and so far we have recovered 18 dead bodies,” he said.
Punjab Minister for Disaster Management Gurpreet Singh Kangar told reporters, “It's an unfortunate incident and a thorough probe into the incident will be done.”
Police sources said the death toll could go up as some people were still trapped under the debris of the factory.
The Chief Minister of Punjab took to Twitter, saying “deeply anguished to learn of the loss of lives due to the blast in the firecracker factory in Batala. Rescue operations are underway with the DC & SSP heading the relief efforts.”