MP: 100 in hospitals, two missing in Harda firecrackers factory disaster
The explosion was so powerful that it was heard as far as 25 km away. Body parts were scattered at a distance from the site; even vehicles were hit by splinters
More than 100 people are being treated in hospitals while two persons are missing on Wednesday following a deafening blast in a firecrackers factory in Madhya Pradesh that killed 11 people, officials said.
Rescue operations continued throughout the night at the site of the firecrackers factory in Harda town that left more than 200 people injured on Tuesday.
Horrendous incident
The horrific blast-cum-fire took place in Bairagarh locality on the outskirts of Harda, some 150 km from Bhopal.
The explosion was so powerful that it was heard as far as 25 km away. Witnesses said body parts were scattered at a distance from the site and even vehicles on a nearby road were hit by splinters.
The cause of the explosion was not yet known, officials said.
Two missing persons, the injured
Police officer BS Maurya at the district hospital in Harda on Wednesday said he had a list of 217 people, of whom 11 have died.
Among the injured, 73 people were admitted to the district hospital. These included 51 factory workers and 22 people living in the vicinity of the site, he said.
Maurya said 38 injured people were referred to other cities for treatment while 95 were discharged. Two persons are reported to be missing, he added.
Two arrested
Two owners of the firecrackers factory were arrested on Tuesday and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder among other charges. Another person was detained in connection with the incident.
The Madhya Pradesh government has set up a three-member panel committee to be headed by additional chief secretary (Home) to conduct a detailed probe into the explosion at the firecrackers unit.
The panel is also mandated to fix the responsibility of those officials who were supposed to prevent such incidents.
(With agency inputs)
