2 children among 5 killed, dozen houses damaged in UP factory blast

Five persons, including two children and a woman, were killed due to an explosion at a firecracker godown-cum-factory in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district that caused damage to nearby houses, a police official said on Tuesday.

Eleven persons sustained injuries in the blast, which happened in the factory located in the Naushera area under Shikohabad police station limits on Monday night, they said.

Local residents also said that around one dozen houses were damaged due to the blast, and roofs of some of the houses have also been damaged.

"Five persons including two children were killed in the explosion, which had taken place in a  firecracker godown-cum-factory. Eleven persons were injured in the incident," Circle Officer Shikohabad Praveen Tiwari told PTI.

According to local residents, around 10.30 pm, there was a sudden blast in the firecracker godown due to which the walls of the building collapsed and about seven people got buried under the debris.

Meera Devi (45), Aman Kushwaha (17), Gautam Kushwaha (16) and Kumari Ichha (4) and Abhinaye (2) died in the incident. The two kids are siblings, the officer said, adding that they were identified based on information obtained from the district hospital.

The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their kin after post-mortem, officials said.

Family members of the deceased, initially said that they will not carry out the last rites until the government gives them money to rebuild the houses.

However, the families agreed to holding the funerals after speaking to District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan and SSP Saurabh Dixit, who visited the the spot, Tiwari said.

The process of convincing the family members is underway, he said.

Shikohabad's MLA Mukesh Verma, who was also present on the spot, said that the DM spoke to the Chief Minister's Office regarding compensation. He got an assurance that Rs 4 lakhs will be given to the kin of each deceased, after which the family agreed to perform the last rites, Verma said.

The MLA also said that he has requested the DM to arrange a 100-yard plot for those whose homes have been destroyed in the blast.

The state government said that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the accident.

The chief minister has directed the district administration officials to provide proper treatment to the injured, and issued instructions to district administration officials to expedite relief work, it said.