At least 16 people were killed and many injured in a blast at an unauthorized firecracker factory in Batala town of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district on Wednesday, an official said.
Rescue workers were on the job to retrieve the bodies from the badly-damaged building, an official told IANS over phone.
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The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained, he added.
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Several people were feared trapped under the debris, PTI reported, adding that the rescue operation was underway.
The incident took place around 4 pm at the factory located in a residential area, Inspector General (Border Range) SPS Parmar told PTI.
“At least 10 people, mostly workers, died in the blast,” Pamar said.
The impact of the blast was such that a few nearby buildings were damaged.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock over the loss of life in the incident .
“Deeply anguished to learn the loss of life due to the blast in the firecracker factory in Batala. Rescue operations are underway with the DC and the SSP heading relief efforts,” Amarinder tweeted.
Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol too expressed grief over the incident.
“Saddened to hear about the news of blast in Batala factory. NDRF teams and local administration have been rushed for rescue operation,” Deol said in his tweet.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed for the rescue operation.
Senior officials of the district administration and police have reached the spot to take stock of the situation.
(This is a developing story)
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