Kolkata: Four people, including two women were killed and one critically injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Masoodpur village in West Bengal’s Naihati municipality on Friday afternoon.
The blast occurred at 12:15 pm and the strength of the bomb caused partial damage in nearby houses. Panic soon grappled the area and villagers soon left that site with loud cries and panic.
Senior fire officer Kamal Kumar Nandi issued a statement, “Four bodies have been recovered from the site so far. It seems that all of them were factory workers. One person is critically injured and he is admitted at the Naihati State General Hospital,”
The officer also said , that such blast can only occur through large quantities of ammonium nitrate. “We have noticed that the factory did not have adequate fire safety measures installed inside,”
Prasanta Sanpui, an eyewitness, said, “My sister-in-law Brinda Sanpui was killed in the blast. Her body was completely charred beyond recognition. I recognised her body with her bangles.”
The district police as far now have detained the factory owner for interrogation and are examining his trade licence. Locals alleged that the factory has been running illegally and despite repeated complaints to the district administration, no action occurred regarding the issue.
A year ago, a blast occurred similarly in a cracker factory in the same area. Locals said that not only firecrackers, other explosives were also stored in the factory.
