Two killed, 10 injured in blast at crackers factory in Nadia

Kolkata: Two persons including a woman were killed and at least 10 others injured, when a blast took place at a crackers factory at Gangnapur village in Nadia on Sunday afternoon.

The blast had shaken the entire area and also triggered tension among the local people who staged a protest demonstration, alleging that the factory had been operating without a fire clearance. They rushed to the spot immediately after the incident and took part in the rescue operation.

The injured persons sustained burn injuries in the incident. A blaze soon engulfed the entire factory and damaged it completely. The fire personnel ensured that none was trapped inside the factory.

The deceased have been identified as Rinku Mondal and Ranjit Biswas. According to the district police, both of them were working at the factory. As many as ten others who were there in the factory received injuries when the blast took place. Some of the injured victims have been stated to be in serious condition. The district police cordoned off the entire area and traffic movement was restricted to check any untoward incident. Some of the injured victims were taken to Ranaghat Sub-Divisional Hospital while others were rushed to Kalyani JNM Hospital.

There were repeated blasts in the factory as a huge amount of fire crackers was stored inside it ahead of Durga Puja, police said. Four fire tenders immediately swung into action to douse the flames. The fire personnel had a difficult time extinguishing the blaze because of the repeated explosions. The fire fighters brought the fire under control within the next three hours. However, they are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage. A probe has been initiated in this connection.