Anekal (Bengaluru): At least 12 people were killed after a firecracker godown caught fire at Attibele on the Bengaluru-Hosur Interstate Highway in Karnataka's Anekal taluk on Saturday.
Four persons, including the shop owner, sustained burn injuries and were given treatment. However, one of them who received serious burn injuries has been referred to another hospital, they said. Most of them who died were employees working in the firecracker godown-cum-shop, police said, adding efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the deceased.
The incident occurred around 3.30 pm while unloading firecracker cartons from a transport vehicle, police said, adding fire-fighters are at the spot conducting a search operation to ascertain if there are more bodies.
"Some employees were working inside the shop when the fire broke out. We have recovered 12 charred bodies from the spot so far. All these bodies have been shifted to hospital. Search operations are still underway to ascertain if there are more bodies inside the gutted shop," said Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural) Mallikarjun Baladandi.
"More than five fire engines were pressed into operations and the fire has been under control now," he said. Preliminary enquiry has revealed that about 12 to 15 people were working at the shop when the fire broke out. Experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory team have also visited the spot for examination. The exact cause of the fire is being verified, he added.
"We are gathering information about the exact number of people who were inside the shop at the time of the incident from the injured and family members of the employees. Efforts are being made to identify the bodies. There are chances we may recover more bodies as a search operation is still underway," he said.
Firecrackers worth several lakhs were stored in the godown for the upcoming Deepavali festival. It caught fire and started exploding, police said. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, they said. According to official sources, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is also expected to visit the spot.
Meanwhile, taking to social media 'X' (formerly Twitter) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah posted in Kannada, "I am deeply saddened to hear the news that 12 people died in a fire accident that broke out in a firecracker store near Anekal, Bengaluru urban district. I am going to visit the accident site tomorrow and inspect it. My condolences to the family of the deceased workers."
Also read: Four people dead after fire breaks out at firecracker warehouse in Karnataka
