post news network
Khurda, August 19: In a tragic incident, five women including four of a family died and four others suffered severe injuries in an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit at Siko village in Jankia police limits Saturday.
The blast took place at 5.45am at the house of Sanatan Sethi of Kumbhar Sahi, where his family was allegedly manufacturing firecrackers illegally.
The deceased were Sethi’s wife Babita, 38, three daughters Puspanjali, 16, Madhavi, 11, Purnima, 7, and their neighbour Dutee Sethi, 70. Sethi’s mother Gandei, 80, and another daughter Shradhanjali, 15 and neighbours Rasabati, 70 and Sanjay Sethi, 19 were injured in the explosion and admitted to the district headquarters hospital.
Fire striking force from Bhubaneswar training school and fire brigade personnel from Khurda, Tangi, Bolgarh, Nayagarh and Ranpur struggled for seven hours to douse the fire and retrieved the bodies of Babita and her two daughters from the house. One pucca house of Sethi, two asbestos houses of Chintamani Sethi and two asbestos house of Urmila Sethi were reduced to ashes in the fire.