23 die in Punjab firecracker unit explosion

Chandigarh: At least 23 people died and more than 27 were injured in a blast at an unauthorized firecracker manufacturing unit in a residential area in Gurdaspur district Wednesday.

Rescue workers were on the job to retrieve the bodies from the badly-damaged building in Batala, an official told reporters over phone.

A number of nearby buildings, including a car workshop, were badly damaged. The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained.

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force were rushed to spot to speed up the rescue operation.
Locals complained the firecracker unit was running illegally for several years. It were manufacturing and storing crackers for a ‘nagar kirtan’, a religious procession relating to the birth anniversary of Sikh founder Guru Nanak Dev Wednesday evening.

“The cracker factory has been working in this locality for many years. We have complained against the factory seven-eight times to the local administration, but no action was taken against it,” a local resident said, adding a similar blast occurred in the area in January 2017.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said rescue operations were underway with the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police heading the relief efforts.