BALASORE: AT least ten persons, including two minors, were killed in three separate incidents of explosions at firecracker units in the State on Wednesday. In Balasore alone, eight persons were charred to death and 12 injured in an explosion in an illegal cracker manufacturing unit at Bahabalpur on the eve of Diwali. The other incidents were reported from Pipili and Rourkela.
However, the mishap in Balasore took the sheen off Diwali preprations. The blast in the firecrakcer manufacturing unit of Golak Pradhan at Bahabalpur village was so strong that it killed six persons on the spot while nine were critically hurt. The injured were initially admitted to Balasore District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) before being shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack as their condition deteriorated.Though the exact cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained, police sources said the mishap occurred when some labourers were preparing crackers while others were trading when a blast ripped through the unit.
Fire generated during the explosion engulfed the thatched house located a few yards away from Pradhan’s house claiming seven lives. While Pradhan and his daughter-in-law have been injured, his son and grandson died in the mishap that took place at about 4.30 pm.An eyewitness said the intensity of the explosion was so strong that it was heard within a radius of 1 km and initially people mistook the sound to be emanating from the missile testing range at Chandipur.
“Later, we realised that it was from the cracker factory. Sensing trouble, we did not enter the house and informed the fire office. A few local traders, who had gone to purchase crackers, also have been injured. Thank God, the unit was not located close to any human habitation,” he said.Fire fighting teams from Basta and Balasore rushed to the spot and doused the flames. However, six persons had already succumbed to the injuries by the time the situation was brought under control. Another person died while undergoing treatment in SCBMCH.
District Collector Pramod Kumar Das confirmed that six bodies were recovered from the spot. A unit of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was engaged to search if anyone was missing. The bodies are yet to be identified as their faces were disfigured in the inferno, he said.
Additional SP Santosh Nayak, who visited the spot, said as per preliminary investigation, a child burst a cracker, a portion of which fell on the stock leading to the explosion. Pradhan had no valid licence and he was running the unit illegally. Further investigation is on, he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the family members of the people killed in the fire mishap and Rs50,000 for the injured besides free treatment.
The CM has also ordered a probe into the incident. “Stern action would be taken against those responsible for the mishap,” he added. In-charge of Bahabalpur marine police station was placed under suspension in this connection and the SP Niti Sekhar has been asked to submit a report.
Earlier in the day, a minor girl was killed and four others were critically injured while making firecrackers at Bilipada near Pipili in Puri district.
Similarly, in Rourkela, a major fire broke out during the wee hours at a firecracker vending zone near Power House Road killing one person and destroying property worth Rs 1.5 crore. The fire that broke out in the secluded firecracker vending zone at about 2.30 am, gutted 46 makeshift shops and 18 motorcycles. One Biswajit Jena (18), who was present in one of the shops, was burnt alive while others managed to run to safety.