4 dead, 7 injured in explosion at illegal firecracker factory in MP's Morena

Two of the deceased are from the family of Jameel Khan -- who ran a firecracker production unit in the building -- including his wife identified as Anno and child Zoya. The other two killed in the incident have been identified as Pappu Gurjar and Golu Prajapati.

Morena(MP):Four people were killed and seven were injured in a blast in an illegal firecrackers godown in the Banmore town here on Thursday. A rescue team has been trying to ascertain if there are more people buried under the debris, while the injured have been shifted to a hospital in Gwalior for treatment.

As informed by the probing officials, the building was a two-storey building and collapsed at around 11 am this morning. The neighbours informed the police about the incident, after which a rescue team reached the spot and initially recovered two dead bodies from under the debris. Seven people were rescued alive, while two other dead bodies were recovered by 1 pm as the rescue operation progressed. The injured were sent to the district hospital for treatment, where 4 people were declared dead on arrival. The doctors there, after initial treatment, sent the injured to Gwalior for further aid.

Two of the deceased are from the family of Jameel Khan -- who ran a firecracker production unit in the building -- including his wife identified as Anno and child Zoya. The other two killed in the incident have been identified as Pappu Gurjar and Golu Prajapati. Police have found that the firecracker production unit was being operated illegally, while the building also had a residential section where families including that of the owner of the building, were residing.

Morena Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Bagri, who also reached the spot to overlook the evacuation, said that the exact reason for the blast is not ascertained. "Since the quantity of crackers found in the godown was not much, it cannot be said with certainty if the blast was because of gunpowder or due to the bursting of a cylinder. A team of experts is examining the cause of the explosion," he said.