PATNA: At least seven people, including three members of a family, have reportedly been killed in a major fire that broke out at a firecracker factory in Bihar’s Siwan district on Friday evening. Siwan SP Bharat Soni, however, confirmed the deaths of only five people.
The incident took place in Alampur village under the limits of Jamo police station in the district. The explosion was so intense that debris from the adjoining part of the building fell onto the road. The incident occurred while firecrackers were being manufactured in the house.
Senior officials, including District Magistrate Vijay Prakash Meena and SP Bharat Soni, rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation. “We have somehow managed to recover the mangled bodies of those killed, as parts of their bodies were disintegrated,” the DM said.
Fire tenders have been pressed into service to douse the flames. Police said that several people were present in the house when the firecrackers exploded.
Subsequently, flames engulfed other firecrackers stored on the premises, setting off a chain of explosions.
Locals said that the sounds of explosions continued intermittently for about two hours. The firecracker unit was operating in the house of Mohammad Amruddin Mian, said to be a noted firecracker dealer in the district.
It is yet to be confirmed whether Mian had obtained a licence to operate the firecracker unit in the house.
