At least 14 people died and nine others suffered serious injuries in a massive explosion that took place inside a house, where the inhabitants were said to be involved in illegal firecracker business, an official said on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed condolences to families of those killed in Bhagalpur explosion.
"The news of loss of life due to an explosion in Bihar's Bhagalpur is painful. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. I spoke with CM Nitish Kumar regarding the incident. The admn is engaged in relief & rescue ops. All possible assistance is being provided to the victims," PM Modi tweeted.
Bhagalpur District Magistrate Subrat Kumar Sen said the blast took place inside the house of Mahendra Mandal in Kajbalichak locality of the town in the early hours.
The DM said Mandal has been previously involved in illegal manufacture of firecrackers, and a similar explosion at his house in 2008 had killed three people, including his wife, PTI reported.
The Bhagalpur District Magistrate, Subrat Kumar Sen, told ANI, "Prima facie it is coming to light that the family residing in the house where the explosion took place was involved in making firecrackers."
He added that there was a massive explosion in a building near Yatimkhana in the Kajvalichak area at 11:30 pm on Thursday night. On getting information about the incident, a team of police reached the spot along with senior officers. The debris of the collapsed building is being moved with the help of JCB.
Teams of bomb disposal squad and forensic experts were collecting samples to ascertain the type of material that caused the blast, he said.
The bodies recovered so far were badly disfigured and the administration was yet to confirm the identities of the deceased. Nine survivors have been rushed to a hospital, Sen said.
As per sources, the count of deaths and injured can increase as the work of removing the debris is underway. The explosion was so strong that the building was completely destroyed including the walls of three nearby houses.
People sleeping in the adjacent houses have been injured badly. The sound of the blast was heard for several kilometres. Further investigation is underway added DM.
(With inputs from agencies)
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