Yet another explosion in firecracker godown, claiming 2 lives in Malda

Two persons died after fire broke out in a firecracker godown in Malda. In similar incidents, three persons died in Budge Budge on May 21 and 11 died in Egra on May 16.

Malda: Two persons died after fire broke out in a firecracker godown in West Bengal's Malda on Tuesday morning, police said. This comes after similar incidents occurred in East Midnapore's Egra and Budge Budge in South 24 Parganas.

One of the deceased, Raju Rishi, a van driver was removing carbide from the godown when suddenly fire broke out inside the godown. The godown's shutter fell down accidentally leaving him trapped inside. Raju sustained burn injuries and died on the spot.

After a while, another worker, named Ganesh Karmakar was found missing. His body was later found by fire brigade personnel. Both the bodies have been sent for postmortem, police added.

A loud explosion was heard at around 7 am in a godown owned by one Babu Saha in Netaji Civic market. Following which, smoke started billowing out from the godown. The incident triggered panic in the area. The locals informed the fire brigade.

Three fire tenders were pressed into service. Swapan Kumar Das, Divisional Fire Officer said the exact death toll will be known once the fire is fully under control. He said that around 15 shops were gutted in the fire. "There is a huge reservoir in the market and that came in handy for us. Whether it was electrical short-circuit or carbide, the exact cause of fire is still not clear. We do not know whether firecrackers were stored here or not. Two of our workers fell ill due to heavy smoke," Das said.

English Bazar Municipality chairman Krishnandunarayan Chowdhury said, "Our primary goal is to bring the fire under control. Later, a proper investigation will be conducted. The fire was caused due to some combustible material stored in the godown. There are firecracker shops and warehouses nearby," he said.

At least 11 people died in the explosion at the illegal firecracker factory in Egra on May 16. On May 21, three persons died in another explosion in the godown of an illegal firecracker factory in Nandrampur Daipara under Budge Budge Police Station area.

Notably, the state police have ordered to be vigilant on the mushrooming of such illegal firecracker factories. Officials have asked to keep a watch on who is running these godowns and take necessary legal measures.