Kolkata, Aug 27 (UNI) At least seven people were burnt to death and some others sustained burn wounds at an explosion in an illegal firecracker factory in West Bengal on Sunday, official sources said.
The blast occurred at Duttapukur in North 24 Parganas district,
The injured have been taken to the Barasat hospital.
Unconfirmed sources put the toll at 8, with five others injured.
The blast happened around 10-30 AM in the residential area of Nilgunj-Moshpole under Duttapukur police station, and the immediate impact was the two-storied house was flattened and some other residences in the vicinity were damaged.
The owner of the illegal factory, identified as Azuibur Rahman, immediately fled from the scene to avoid arrest and escape the wrath of the locals, who accused the administration of not paying any heed to their allegation regarding the existence of the firecracker factory in the thickly populated locality.
Scores of sacks stacked with firecrackers – chocolate bomb, a banned item – were found in another godown, which fortunately was not affected in the massive explosion, sources added.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion did not not cause flames, but thick black smoke covered the whole area. They said the explosion might have happened when the workers of the illegal factory were drying the firecrackers on the roof.
They said the workers were mostly hired from the Murshidabad district, another neighbour complained.
Police reinforcements were sent when hundreds of local people gathered and began an agitation against the alleged failure of the local TMC leaders and the government administration for not heeding their grievances about the existence of the illegal firecracker factory.
