Eight of family killed in WB firecracker unit

Eight members of a family, including four children, were killed in an explosion in a household firecracker manufacturing unit in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal late on Monday night.

- HT Correspondent

AHMEDABAD: Twenty-one people lost their lives, and six others sustained injuries after a fire, triggered by a boiler explosion, engulfed an illegal firecracker factory godown on Dhunva Road in Deesa town of Banaskantha district, Gujarat, on Tuesday morning.

It emerged that a December application by the factory, seeking renewal of its licence, was rejected following an adverse report by the police after an inspection, during which they found no safety measures.

District collector Mihir Patel said late on Tuesday that 21 people were killed and six injured. "All the deceased people were originally from Harda and Dewas districts of Madhya Pradesh," he said.

According to CP Patel, resident additional collector of Banaskantha, the blast occurred in the godown where firecrackers were stored, causing the roof to collapse on workers.