Bolangir: A 25-year-old woman was killed while three others sustained critical injuries after a massive explosion occurred in an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit at Bhaler village under Puintala block and Sadar police limits in this district Monday.
The deceased was identified as Santoshini Naik, a worker in the cracker factory. Three other women workers Sradhanjali Dash (45), Rohini Dash (60) and Geetanjali Dash (32) sustained critical injuries in the incident.
Santoshini was rushed to the district headquarters hospital along with the three others in an ambulance but she died during treatment.
Two of the injured were subsequently shifted to Burla-based VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research after their condition worsened. The intensity of the blast was so severe that it blew off the roofs and damaged the walls of the nearby houses and put them in flames.
Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and doused the flames. Police arrested the unit owner Omprakash Dash (40) and registered a case in this connection. Police also seized all the explosives and cracker manufacturing material from the site.
Sources said Omprakash was running the unit from his house in the middle of the village without having any license. The factory was established by his father Rameshwar Dash after obtaining a valid license.
He took over the charge of the unit after his father died over a year ago. He, however, was running the unit illegally without obtaining fresh license, report said. The administration although aware of the running of the illegal unit took no steps against it. PNN
