At least 14 people were killed and 16 others injured in an explosion at Kazwali Chak, in Bihar’s Bhagalpur town. DIG (Bhagalpur) Sujit Kumar said a large amount of explosives stored in a house for the manufacture of illegal firecrackers caused the blast. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar asked chief secretary Amir Subhani and DGP SK Singhal to take action against the guilty after investigating the incident.
The explosion was so powerful that the house in which the blast took place was reduced to rubble and three other adjacent houses also crumbled to the ground. The sound of the explosion was heard up to 10 km from the spot. As per eyewitnesseses, the blast sent splinters flying as far as half a kilometer. People living in adjoining localities said the smell of burning gunpowder spread across several kms.
People living in the neighbourhood alleged that the illegal activity had been going on for a long time and that there had been explosions there in the past but the local administration remained a mute spectator. Power supply lines were snapped due to the blast’s intensity and the rubble was hampering rescue operations. An earthmover was used to clear the rubble.
The SHO in charge of Tatarpur police station has been suspended as the firecrackers were being manufactured without any licence. He said a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate and sulphur, used in the manufacture of firecrackers, besides wrappers and plastic, were found at the spot.
Bhagalpur SSP Babu Ram said most of the dead belonged to four families that used to live in the houses which collapsed in the blast. “Out of the four families, two were engaged in the illegal firecracker manufacturing business,” he said.
