At least 21 people were killed and several others injured in a fire caused by an explosion at a firecracker warehouse in Deesa town of Banaskantha district of North Gujarat on Tuesday. The firecracker warehouse was turned into a factory and was running illegally.
Majority of the victims are migrants from Madhya Pradesh. The factory owner has been identified as one Khubchand Sindhi. The fire broke out in the morning and the rescue operations were on till late in the evening. Fire fighters were sent from Ahmedabad as well.
Deputy collector Neha Panchal told reporters that the premises had the license to store firecrackers and not manufacture.
Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel took to social media to express grief and announce compensation. The state government has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those dead and Rs 50,000 to those injured. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav also expressed grief over the tragic incident.
Gujarat Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil expressed grief over the incident and alleged that the government has not learnt lessons from the past. He cited incidents of fire at TRP mall gaming zone in Rajkot that claimed over 25 lives. Gohil also mentioned about the Harni boat tragedy in Vadodara and Takshashila fire incident in Surat. Both the tragedies claimed several lives.
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