A couple died on the spot and three others sustained severe burns in an explosion at an unauthorised fire cracker manufacturing unit in a farm house at Guluru near here, in the wee hours of Sunday.
The unit was situated in Tumkur rural Assembly segment and was a feeder to the political parties in the election season. Naraseeyappa (65) and his wife Jayamma alias Lakshmamma, died of asphyxiation after inhaling the gases and carbon monoxide after the explosion, police said.
Two of the injured, including the couple’s daughter Sarojamma, and a worker Rajanna were admitted to the district general hospital here. A critically injured Siddalingappa and another worker were shifted to a hospital in Bangalore.
The accused Sarojamma and her husband were manufacturing the fire crackers for several years, doing good business. After her husband’s death, her parents who hail from Narasipura village, joined her. Since there is a huge demand for fire crackers in the election season, they had stockpiled raw materials. The explosion was triggered by a spark at around 5 am. It ripped the tile roofed house which crumbled.