Scattered bodies, damaged homes and debris lying all around -- all these were reminders of the tragedy that struck Madhya Pradesh's Harda town where a powerful explosion triggered a massive blaze at a firecrackers factory on Tuesday.
At least 11 persons were killed and 174 others injured when the explosion ripped through the facility and caused a devastating fire.
The factory is located in the Bairagarh locality on the outskirts of Harda town, about 150 km from the state capital Bhopal.
The first blast, whose cause was not yet known, was followed by intermittent explosions.
Their deafening sound was heard 20 to 25 km away from the spot, where thick plumes of smoke billowed.
A video shot from the helicopter carrying State Minister Rao Uday Pratap Singh to Harda showed that the factory had been reduced to rubble.
According to eyewitnesses, several bodies were lying on the spot, while many people were reported missing after the explosion-cum-blaze at the factory.
Videos of the incident surfaced on social media, which showed intermittent explosions taking place at the unit as people frantically ran to save themselves.
The intensity of the explosions was so high that the body parts of the victims were flung far away from the spot, and in some videos, people can be seen collecting what appeared like human remains.
A factory worker, Rukhsar Bano, who sustained injuries, said the ground shook at the time of the first blast.
"When we heard the blast, we ran frantically and came out of the building. There was fire all around," she said.
"The building has three to four floors and different workers were assigned on each floor. Women and children were on my floor. My colleague's three children are missing. I saw some children and other people lying dead," Bano claimed.
Eyewitnesses claimed that materials in the unit were blown to bits in the explosion and some of them hit vehicles were passing by the site.
Some people shot videos of the fire even as they were fleeing, while some caught a glimpse of the site from the roofs of houses.
Several houses located near the factory were also damaged, residents said.
Though the area was not densely populated, there were 30 to 40 houses in the vicinity and the ill-fated factory was mostly surrounded by open fields, eyewitnesses said.
According to an eyewitness, a blast also occurred in the evening when an earthmoving machine was removing the debris from the site.
Officials said they need to remove the debris to ascertain if explosive materials had been buried under it.
"I was in the market for some work when I got information about the blast. My house got damaged but all four members present there escaped unhurt," said a local resident.
Deepak Kumar, a young man living in the vicinity of the factory, complained that valuables and ornaments were missing from his damaged home.
"The house got damaged due to the blast. Ornaments and valuables were missing from the almirah, " he said.
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