At least four people lost their lives and several others were injured after a powerful blast followed by a fire at an illegal firecracker factory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Saturday.
The explosion happened in the area of Ramtol and a huge fire engulfed the factory premises. Safety and emergency crew members were immediately dispatched to the scene to conduct rescue and evacuation to local hospital.
It is still not known what exactly triggered this explosion and investigators are working intensely to find out how this illegal firecracker factory was functioning and why this resulted in the deaths of the three people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the incident and conveyed his condolences to the families of the dead.
In a statement, the Prime Minister said he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured. He also promised them that the area’s local authority was doing what they could to support the impacted families.
The Prime Minister’s Office has notified that compensation was granted to the victim of murder under the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF), which is an ex-gratia facility. Next of kin of each deceased victim will get Rs 2 lakh and each injured will be given Rs 50,000 as financial assistance.
The incident has brought into focus another big problem with the working of the illegal firecracker factories and the safety hazards that they offer to the workers and to the people residing on the periphery of the factories.
Further action is likely against the people operating the illegal factory following a thorough investigation by Police in to the explosion.