Puri firecracker explosion death toll rises to four

Bhubaneswar: The death toll in the firecracker explosion in Odisha’s Puri mounted to four on Friday after another person succumbed to injuries, a senior official said. Three persons, including a minor, had died and 33 others were injured after a stockpile of firecrackers exploded during Lord Jagannath’s Chandan Jatra festival in Puri on Wednesday evening. Another injured person has died in hospital, while 26 others were undergoing treatment, a statement issued by the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said. CM Naveen Patnaik has ordered an administrative-level inquiry into the incident, and announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased. An additional chief secretary-level officer of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Satyabrata Sahu, who is also the SRC has started a probe into the incident. Meanwhile, the Puri Police has registered a suo motu criminal case and an investigation is underway.