At least 17 people died and five were injured in a massive blaze at a firecracker warehouse in the Deesa town of Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Tuesday morning.
The incident took place around 9:30 am when several workers were at the facility of Deepak Firecrackers.
Banaskantha Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana confirmed, “A total of 17 people have lost their lives, five are injured. We believe nobody else is on the premises, but firefighting operations remain underway.”
The injured persons have burn injuries but are said to be in stable medical condition at a local hospital.
The fire continued to rage more than six hours after it began, and firefighters from Deesa, Palanpur and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited were at the site, attempting to douse the blaze in the godown filled with highly inflammable materials.
Officials of the Gujarat State Fire Prevention Services told The Indian Express that Dixit Patel, the Regional Fire Officer of Gandhinagar Region, was on the way to Deesa to assess the situation and put in a request for the deployment of additional firefighting resources and manpower if required.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased, and Rs 50,000 to those who sustained injuries in the blaze. “The death of workers due to fire in a firecracker factory in Deesa is heartbreaking. My heartfelt condolences are with the relatives of the deceased in this hour of grief. I am in constant touch with the administration regarding the relief, rescue and treatment work in this accident. I have instructed the administration to ensure that the injured get proper treatment at the earliest. The state government will provide assistance of Rs. 4 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured. I pray that God will grant peace to the souls of the deceased workers and speedy recovery to the injured,” Patel said in a post on social media platform X.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
