KAKINADA: Despair was writ large on their faces. Their occasional wails kept stabbing through the atmosphere, reminding one of the tragedy that struck Vakatippa near Kakinada on Monday evening when fire crackers in a godown blew up, killing 14 workers.
The place looked horrifying with charred and dismembered bodies lying strewn all round at what remained of the godown where the crackers were being made.
T Ravanamma, whose house was close to the spot, was seen praying to God thanking him for sparing her grandchildren who escaped the mishap by a whisker. The godown went off minutes after the children returned home.
D Manikyam, who owns a shop near the godown, feels wind had helped them. Flames did not spread to the houses, but blew in a different direction. “Probably this is the reason why the houses did not catch fire,” he said, adding cooconut trees too served as a buffer.