At least 7 people were killed and several others were injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory in Duttapukur town of West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Sunday.
A rescue operation is underway at the explosion site, police said
The explosion happened around 10 a.m. when several people were working at the factory in Nilgunj’s Moshpole in the Duttapukur police station area, around 30 km north of Kolkata, an official said.
The death figures are likely to increase further, said local police sources, as the condition of some of those injured in the blast was extremely critical.
Those injured in the accident have been admitted to nearby Barasat Hospital for treatment.
The impact of the blast was such that even the roof of the warehouse where the fire-cracker raw materials were illegally stacked was blown off completely. The dead persons included a couple of women.
Following the blasts, the local people started protesting and they alleged that the fire-cracker warehouse was running illegally for quite some time with the active backing from the local police. Repeated complaints of the local people for police action against the warehouse had fallen on deaf ear, the local people complained.
Some of the locals even made an attempt to attack the house of the owner of the warehouse. After a huge police contingent reached the post, the locals started protesting seeking clarifications on why the police were silent for such a long time. There was a heated exchange of words between the police and the protesting public.
The development is blatant proof that two consecutive similar blasts at illegal firecracker factories first in East Midnapore and then in South 24 Parganas district were not eye-openers for the administration or the police.
(With inputs from agencies)