12 killed in illegal cracker factory explosion in Midnapore

Twelve persons were charred to death and four others injured in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory at Pingla in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordering a CID investigation into the incident. “Twelve charred bodies have been recovered from the blast spot, while four injured have been admitted to hospital,” IGP (Western Range) S N Gupta told PTI.

The house owner Ranjan Maiti has been arrested, he added. Police said the factory was illegal and the blast took place shortly before 10 PM last night and the raging fire has been put out. All the victims were employees of the factory who were brought from Murshidabad district, police said. The bodies were charred beyond recognition and it is difficult to even identify their gender. The bodies were sent to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

To a question if the incident was like the Burdwan blast that took place in October last year and claimed the lives of two suspected Jamaat-ul Maujahideen Bangladesh terrorists, Gupta replied in the negative. “It is (Pingla blast) an accident in a cracker factory.” Asked if any central probe team, specially the NIA, had visited the spot or contacted him, Gupta said, “The question does not arise since it is a case of accident in a cracker factory.”

On the reason behind the blast, West Midnapore superintendent of Police B Ghosh said, “We are looking into it. Probably something went wrong during the manufacturing of crackers.” The Chief minister, who ordered a CID probe into the explosion, wondered, “How could so many firecrackers be prepared at one place and how so many explosive substances were accumulated in one place ?” “I ask all Green police (civic police) personnel in all villages to keep a watch on such activities and to inform the local police station if they find explosive substances being accumulated at any place,” she said at a programme at Namkhana in South 24 Paraganas district. Police said that it is on the look out for another person in connection with the explosion.

Neighbouring areas like Sabang and Baliachak, besides Pingla were being scanned for other such firecracker units, it added. CID sources in Kolkata said a CID team would visit Pingla and a central forensic team has already reached there. Meanwhile, Congress and BJP have demanded a probe by NIA into the incident. Congress leader Manas Bhunia, an MLA from neighbouring Sabang, visited the spot and demanded NIA probe. Bhunia, who earlier met governor K N Tripathi on the issue, said it was unlikely that police did not know about the existence of the illegal cracker unit.

Thursday 7 May 2015

http://www.india.com/news/india/12-killed-in-illegal-cracker-factory-explosion-in-midnapore-one-arrested-375646/

continue reading

Death toll rises to 17 in fireworks plant blast in South India

The death toll in fire at a fireworks factory in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh rose to 17, after five more deaths were reported here on Tuesday.

The police said two more women are missing since the fire, which started after an explosion so big that many workers were thrown off to nearby fields.

There were 30 people at work when the fire began, said officials in Kakinada, 160 km from the port city of Visakhapatnam. It took nearly two hours to put out the flames as a lot of inflammable material was feeding the fire.

The fire, which triggered several explosions, destroyed the building. Two fire engines battled for two hours to douse the flames.

All the victims were workers in the unit, which was manufacturing firecrackers for the coming Diwali festival.

A burning cigarette is suspected to have led to the fire.

The government has ordered an investigation into whether fire safety precautions had been ignored by the factory's owner.

The factory has been operating every year during the festival season for the last 10 years and reportedly had a licence.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced compensation of 200,000 Indian rupees for the families of those who died.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/141021/3rd-ld-writethru-death-toll-rises-17-fireworks-plant-blast-s

continue reading

11 killed in blast at cracker unit near Kakinada

Eleven persons, including 10 women, were killed and seven injured in an explosion at a cracker-making unit at Vakatippa, a tiny coastal village about 25 km from here, on Monday.

Residents of Vakatippa, Uppada Kothapalli and nearby villages heard the ear-splitting sound of the explosion around Monday afternoon and then saw thick clouds of smoke emanating from Manikanta Fireworks, a workshop where firecrackers were being made unauthorisedly and located amidst a coconut grove in the village.

The two sheds of the unit were completely destroyed and the fire personnel extricated the bodies from the debris after putting out the fire. Villagers, with the help of the fire personnel, rescued seven persons who sustained burns and rushed them to hospital where the condition of five was stated to be critical.

Fire engulfed the two huge sheds when residents living in the neighbourhood alerted fire services personnel over telephone. Four fire tenders worked continuously for over two hours to bring the fire under control.

According to the eyewitnesses, there were at least 35 persons, including daily labourers and customers, at the workshop when the explosion occurred. Some of them ran into the farm fields after hearing the sound of the explosion. “The exact number of the deceased is more than the number cited by the officials. They were able to give the details of only 18 out of 35 persons who were there in the workshop at the time of the incident,” said Dasari Satyanarayana, a rights activist from the nearby Subbampeta village, who took part in the rescue operation.

It is suspected that the explosion took place due to a fire in a bundle of crackers that were piled up and stored for Diwali sale. An official from the Fire Services Department, who did not want to be named, said going by the intensity of the explosion there was a huge quantity of crackers in the workshop.

The fire personnel spotted extinguishers in the workshop. The two-decade-old workshop is known for delivering crackers round the year and the production and sales were quite high during the Diwali season. “During the preliminary inquiry, we found that the licence of the workshop expired in March this year and it seems no effort has been made for its renewal,” said B.R. Ambedkar, Revenue Divisional Officer. Home Minister N. Chinna Rajappa visited the spot and consoled the family members of the deceased.

Monday 20 October 2014

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/11-killed-in-blast-at-cracker-unit-near-kakinada/article6520282.ece

continue reading

Explosion in China firework factory kills seven, injures dozens

Seven people have been killed and 19 others were injured in a fireworks factory explosion on Friday afternoon in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said.

The explosion occurred at about 4 p.m. in Sanbao County of Cenxi City and a preliminary investigation showed 26 people were injured and sent to hospital, according to the city government.

Seven people died after emergency treatment failed while 19 others remain in hospital for further observation, said the government.

In June, explosion had occurred in a fireworks factory at east China's Jiangxi Province which had taken three lives and injured 45 others.

Friday 01 November 2013

http://en.apa.az/xeber_factory_blast_kills_7__injures_19_202078.html

continue reading

Explosion at Kumbakonam fireworks factory kills nine, injures 12

A blast at a fireworks factory in Olugucherry in Thanjavur district on Friday killed nine people and seriously injured 12, casting a grim shadow over Diwali celebrations.

Police said Shanalakshmi Fire Works, 30km from Kumbakonam, the site of the worst fire tragedy in Tamil Nadu, manufactured high-decibel 'chanalvedi' (bangers) and rockets.

Around 30 people had gone to the factory to buy fireworks around 2.30pm, and 15 workers were making them when the blast took place. Police said there were 10 two-wheelers parked outside the factory, and the fire could have been set off by a lit cigarette butt.

While such explosions have occurred in fireworks units scattered across Tamil Nadu, it is Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district, the country's fireworks hub where the maximum accidents have taken place. The state government woke up to the dangers of blatant violations by units in Sivakasi after a blast killed 40 people on September 5, 2012, in Muthalipatti village. Central and state officials conducted a series of raids bringing the industry here, the biggest in the country, to a standstill.

Licenses of more than 70 units were cancelled and the vigil was tightened on all the units to ensure they did not deviate from the rules.

The Thanjavur factory's license was renewed in September this year. Inspector-general of police (central zone) M Ramasubramani visited the burnt-down factory in the evening and ordered the arrest of the owner, Krishnamurthy. A thorough investigation will be conducted and maximum punishment would be meted out to the accused," Ramasubramani said. But for a marginal drop, the number of accidents has not come down in proportionate with the drastic action. While there were six fatal accidents in 2012, this year five accidents have been reported so far despite the vigil, claiming 14 lives.

In 2011, there were six accidents in which 21 people were killed. While there are 750 licensed cracker manufacturing units spread across Sivakasi, Aruppukottai and Sattur in Virudhunagar district, there is a thriving cottage industry in the villages.

The checks and the attendant fear among manufacturers have contributed to a 20% to 25% decline in production from last year, with operators looking to play safe. Owners of fireworks manufacturing companies however said there was no short supply as the overall market trend was sluggish and the demand has dropped by half from last year.

Police suspect that most of the people killed in Friday's Thanjavur explosion hailed from Thirupananthal and Anaikarai and had gone to buy fireworks directly from the factory. Pandhanallur inspector Palanichamy said only a thorough investigation would reveal how many of the deceased were visitors, and how many were employees in the factory. The 12 people, who were injured, suffered more than 60% burns and are being treated at Kumbakonam and Thanjavur government hospitals, police said. Thanjavur district collector N Subbaiyan visited the injured in Kumbakonam government hospital.

Friday 01 November 2013

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Explosion-at-Kumbakonam-fireworks-factory-kills-nine/articleshow/25078663.cms

continue reading

At least 21 dead in Vietnam fireworks factory explosion

At least 21 people have died and scores more have been injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in a military complex in northern Vietnam, an army official said Saturday.

Plumes of black smoke billowed from the Z121 military facility, around 120 kilometers north of Hanoi, as fireworks exploded uncontrollably for several hours, witnesses said.

“Twenty-one people are dead and 98 others are injured, most of them have sustained burns,” a military rescue official told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity and raising an earlier toll of seven dead.

The explosion prompted the evacuation of some 2,000 people living near the area.

An army official said the blast was at a military-run facility in Phu Tho province which employs around 300 workers, mostly women.

The most critical burns cases were being moved to a specialist burns centre on the outskirts of Hanoi, 120km away.

"I couldn't recognise my daughter, she was burned from her face to the soles of her feet," one woman told state media. "She was pregnant, she couldn't escape the explosion quick enough."

Images posted on Vietnamese blogs showed charred frames of motorcycles, and nearby houses with roofs ripped off and windows blown in by the force of the explosions.

“The fire has now been brought under control,” a police official in Phu Tho province told AFP, adding that an investigation into the cause of the accident had been opened.

The online newspaper VNExpress quoted Major General Le Quang Dai as saying that fewer people than usual were working at the time of the explosion because it was a Saturday.

Authorities had tried to isolate the blast in Thanh Ba district to prevent it from reaching two explosives warehouses nearby, he added.



A police officer said the blast could be heard 10km away and around 2,000 residents living near the factory were evacuated.

“The first blast was at 7:55 a.m., and then there were continuous explosions for some hours,” Phi Xuan Trung, chairman of the local Khai Xuan commune, was told the VNExpress news site.

“There was a strong smell of gunpowder, the ground was shaking many kilometres away,” he added.

Residents in Thanh Ba district, where the complex is located, also said they felt the ground shake during the powerful repeated explosions.

“After the first explosion, my house was shaking and the door smashed open,” eye witness Nguyen Nhu Quynh told VNExpress.

Loudspeakers urged people within 15 kilometers of the military facility to leave the area.

One local resident told AFP that locals have fled to the Viet Tri township, about 40 kilometres away.

“We have received warnings from authorities that there could be further explosions which could be very destructive,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In 2010, fireworks being prepared at Hanoi’s My Dinh stadium for use in the city’s 1,000th anniversary celebrations exploded, killing three foreigners and one Vietnamese national.

Saturday 12 October 2013

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/at-least-21-dead-in-vietnam-fireworks-factory-explosion/

http://news.sky.com/story/1153580/vietnam-firework-factory-explosion-kills-21

continue reading

Toll in Mexico fireworks explosion rises to 16

The number of people killed when a small truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in a central Mexican village rose to 16 Sunday, authorities said.

Scores more injured in Friday’s tragedy were still being treated in hospitals, said a statement released by the Tlaxcala state government.

The document said a total of 154 people had been injured in the accident, of whom 72 remain hospitalized.

One witness said he saw “bodies flying” as people ran for cover after a stray firework landed on the truck in Jesus Tepactepec in the middle of a march for the village’s patron saint. Mexicans often set off fireworks during celebrations, but accidents have happened in the past due to the mishandling of the pyrotechnics or a lack of safety measures.

Monday 18 March 2013

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C03%5C18%5Cstory_18-3-2013_pg4_5

continue reading

Mexico fireworks explosion during religious parade kills at least 11, dozens injured

At least 11 people died and some 70 others were injured Friday when a truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious parade in a village near the capital, authorities said.

The blast occurred when a malfunctioned firework landed on the truck in the middle of a march for the Jesus Tepactepec village's patron saint, the civil protection department of Tlaxcala state said.

"We saw bodies flying, then everything went black," said an eyewitness named Isidro Garcia Vazquez.

Survivor Miguel Angel Piscin described the scenes of chaos following the explosion:

“There were lots of bodies lying on the ground, torn apart, no one was helping. I quickly got in my truck, put it in reverse and they pulled up 10 injured people.”

Authorities sent helicopters, ambulance vehilces and soldiers to the scene, about 110 km east of Mexico City, while Tlaxcala Governor Mariano Gonzalez Zarur declared three days of mourning.

Fireworks are commonly used in Mexican holidays and religious celebrations, but mishandling or lack of safety measures often lead to deadly accidents.

Authorities say the death toll could rise as many people were out on the street in preparation for the religious festival.

Saturday 16 March 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-03/16/c_132238356.htm

continue reading

More bodies identified in Henan bridge collapse

The official death toll from the fatal Yichang bridge collapse last week has risen to 13 people, according to on-site authorities heading rescue and investigation efforts.

It is the second time this week that the official list of victims has been revised, raising concerns amongst the public that there may have been a deliberate cover-up.

Forensic tests were able to confirm and identify the bodies of three men aged 34, 45 and 54, the Beijing News reported.

One of the victims was the driver of the cargo truck carrying the illegal fireworks that had exploded, leading to the bridge’s collapse.

A CCTV report on Wednesday said authorities had omitted the death of the 34-year-old driver, Shi Yanfei. It questioned why authorities had failed to include his name on the original list five days after the accident.

The earliest media reports had put the death toll at 26, but rescuers eventually reduced it to 10, the figure which most media reports have used since.

Thursday 7 February 2013

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1145168/more-bodies-identified-henan-bridge-collapse

continue reading

Bridge collapse victims to get equal compensation

The government will equally compensate the families of 10 people who died in a fatal highway bridge collapse in Henan province, the website of Dahe Daily reported on Monday, citing officials at the rescue headquarters.

The news came after reports emerged quoting relatives of the victims born in rural areas saying they will get 180,000 yuan ($28,800) in compensation, or 220,000 yuan less than their counterparts from urban districts.

The government will apply the same compensation standards to every victim and will comply with the Supreme People's Court's interpretation of compensations for personal injuries, officials at the rescue headquarters said.

A truck overloaded with fireworks exploded and blasted off part of a viaduct about 30 meters above the ground in Mianchi county, Henan province, on Friday morning. Ten people died and 11 were injured.

Officials at the rescue headquarters have released the list with the names of the 10 deceased on Monday, and asked relatives to collect the bodies.

The victims were from Shandong and Jiangsu provinces and also from Henan province.

Monday 5 February 2013

http://english.sina.com/china/2013/0204/557774.html

continue reading

Chinese fireworks truck explosion destroys bridge

Four people have been arrested a day after at least 11 died when a lorry loaded with fireworks for the Chinese New Year exploded, causing a section of flyover to collapse.

Vehicles plummeted about 100ft to the ground after the blast, state-run China Central Television reported. It said at least 11 people had been injured, though the search for bodies continued yesterday.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the falling concrete smashed and buried at least 25 vehicles. Rescue work continued to recover bodies yesterday.

Local media said that the lorry that exploded had taken to the road without proper registration and had false papers, claiming it was transporting general merchandise. It said police had detained four suspects but did not provide further details.

The explosion occurred amid heavy fog on the Yihang bridge near the city of Sanmenxia in central Henan province at about 8.52am, according to the state newswire Xinhua, causing an 80-metre section of the bridge to collapse and sending six vehicles plummeting 30 metres to the ground.



The force from the explosion threw six cars into a ravine beneath the bridge and shattered windows at nearby service stations, according to the People's Daily website. The south side of the bridge collapsed completely and the north side is still unstable, it said.

Preliminary investigations blamed the collapse of the ­elevated road on the blast, ­according to a statement by the provincial government of Henan. A 260ft (80m) stretch of the road in the province’s Mianchi county collapsed, scattering blackened chunks of debris and shattering the ­windows of a nearby service station.

The People's Daily quoted experts as saying that the force of a firecracker explosion could in fact destroy a bridge, underscoring widespread concerns in China about the quality of the country's rapidly constructed infrastructure.

A lorry driver interviewed on China Central Television said he was only 60ft away from the explosion.

“I heard a huge bang and immediately braked. I saw small fireballs falling down one by one,” said the unidentified driver, whose lorry’s windshield was smashed by the blast wave.

Photographs posted online by Xinhua News Agency showed a whole section of the elevated motorway missing, with one lorry’s back wheels perched at the edge of a shorn-off section of road.

Other photographs showed firefighters below spraying ­water on scorched blocks of concrete, wrecked lorries and flattened freight containers.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the explosion, which occurred about 55 miles (90km) west of Luoyang, an ancient capital of China known for grottoes of Buddhist statues carved from limestone cliffs.

Fireworks are an enormously popular part of the Chinese celebrations for the lunar new year. To meet the demand, fireworks are made, shipped and stored in large quantities, sometimes in unsafe conditions.

The accident is a stark reminder of safety hazards often associated with Chinese new year celebrations, which begin this year on 10 February. 5,945 fire accidents were reported during the first day of last year's spring festival alone, according to Xinhua.

In 2006, 367 people were killed at a temple fair in Henan when a storeroom of fireworks exploded, according to the Associated Press. Six years earlier, an explosion at an unlicensed fireworks factory killed 33 people, many of them children.

In 2000, an unlicensed fireworks factory in southern China exploded, killing 33 people, including 13 primary and secondary school pupils working there on a seasonal basis.

The Chinese government outlawed fireworks from 1993 to 2005, but ultimately lifted the ban under intense public pressure.

Sunday 3 February 2013

http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/china-fireworks-blast-four-held-over-deaths-1-2773410

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/01/china-fireworks-explosion-truck

continue reading

Bodies of 8 victims of fireworks unit blast cremated

Bodies of eight victims of Parakkallur fireworks unit explosion were cremated separately in their villages on Wednesday with high police security to avoid any untoward incidents.

"While bodies of Shanthi Saravanan (40), owner of the fireworks unit and her son S Suriya (10) were cremated in Parakkallur village, K Sivagami (40), K Deepa (12), Kesavan (13), Thangam (50), Eswari (35) and Vijaya (33) were cremated at Vellar and Senkattur Pirivu Valavu villages respectively," said V Mahalingam, local village head for 18 settlements in the locality, including Parakkallur.

"We were planning to cremate all the victims at one place but relatives of the deceased wanted to be cremated in their villages. So, we cremated them in their own villages after performing final rituals," Mahalingam added.

"All the bodies were handed over to the relatives on Wednesday afternoon after the post-mortem conducted at the Salem government hospital," sources said.

"Two police constables were deployed for each body until the crematorium," said a police officer.

Meanwhile, Salem district superintendent of police Ashwin M Kotnis visited the blast spot along with the deputy controller of explosives from Vellore district.

Ashwin said, "The deputy controller of explosives conducted a detailed investigation at the spot. He confirmed that the explosion had occurred only when the workers were drying the gun powder in the open place near the unit. Fire sparks might have erupted at that time and spread to the entire unit. One of the deceased, Deepa Kuppusamy, also confirmed this in her dying declaration to the Mettur judicial magistrate."

The SP said there were only six workers, including Shanthi, Sivagami, Thangam, Palaniappan, Eswari and Vijaya, working at the manufacturing unit on Tuesday morning. Around 12pm, the children Deepa, Suriya, Ammu, Sathiesh, Pavithra, Kesavan, Pasupathi and Manoj Kumar came to the unit to give lunch for their parents. The children were playing near the place where the gun powder was dried when the explosion took place, Ashwin said.

"This was informed by Deepa to the magistrate. Even we thought that the children were working there," the SP added.

Thursday 27 December 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Bodies-of-8-victims-of-fireworks-unit-blast-cremated/articleshow/17775700.cms

continue reading

At least four killed in firecracker warehouse blast in Tamil Nadu

At least four people were killed and nine suffered burn injuries in a blast at a firecracker warehouse in Tamil Nadu's Salem district Tuesday, police said.

According to police, four bodies have so far been recovered from the explosion site in Salem, around 350 km from here, and their identity is being ascertained.

The injured were taken to a government hospital.

The explosion took place around 2.30 p.m. Fire and rescue personnel were rushed to the spot and the blaze was soon brought under control.

Senior police and district officials have rushed to the accident spot.

Officials said the firecracker unit makes fancy crackers used in temple festivals.

Tuesday 25 December 2012

http://twocircles.net/2012dec25/four_killed_firecracker_warehouse_blast_tamil_nadu.html

continue reading

Explosion in illegal fireworks unit kills eight

Gloom descended on a village in Uttar Pradesh on Diwali day as an explosion in an illegal fireworks factory killed eight people and wounded 12 others.

Six of the deceased persons belonged to a family. The explosion occurred in a house in Auraiya, a village in Kanpur district, where fire-crakers were being manufactured illegally for the festival of lights.

The house is in Yaqoobpur town in Bela police station area in Uttar Pradesh, deputy superintendent of police Ashok Kumar Singh told reporters.

All eight died on the spot as fire-crackers caught fire.

The wounded have been rushed to a hospital in Kanpur.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/eight-killed-in-firecracker-explosion-in-up/article4093233.ece

continue reading

Fireworks factory blaze in India kills at least 40 people

A massive blaze raged for hours at a fireworks factory in southern India, killing at least 40 workers and injuring 60 others on Wednesday, police said. Some reports put the death toll at more than 50. Flames billowing out of the factory could be seen one mile away before firefighters extinguished the fire more than five hours after it began. Photographs taken afterwards showed the factory had burned to rubble, with fireworks littering the ground. The fire spread to 40 of the 60 rooms at the Om Siva Shakti fireworks factory, one of the biggest in Sivakasi, in Tamil Nadu state, a police officer said. The Press Trust of India news agency said about 300 people were working in the factory and 52 died. The CNN-IBN television news channel said rescue workers had completed a search of the devastated building for trapped workers. Large amounts of firecrackers and raw materials were stored in the factory with major Hindu festivals weeks away. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, the officer said. Sivakasi is about 310 miles south-west of Chennai, the state capital. The region has many factories making fireworks, which are used in religious festivals and weddings across India. They also are exported to other Asian countries. Thursday 6 September 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/06/india-fireworks-factory-fire

continue reading