At least 14 persons were killed and several others injured in a massive explosion at a building in the Kajvalichak area of Bihar's Bhagalpur district on Thursday night where the inhabitants were said to be involved in illegal firecracker business.
"So far, 14 people have died and 10 persons injured in the explosion incident. People were trapped under the debris. So, the team of Bhagalpur DM, SSP reached the spot in the morning today and cleared the debris where we found more injured persons and fatalities," SK Singhal, the state DGP, told reporters.
Two to three adjoining houses were also damaged in the powerful blast injuring various people, officials said.
Teams of bomb disposal squad and forensic experts were collecting samples to ascertain the type of material that caused the blast.
Bhagalpur District Magistrate, Subrat Kumar Sen, said, "Prima facie it is coming to light that the family residing in the house where the explosion took place was involved in making firecrackers."
He said that a team of police reached the spot immediately after getting the information about the explosion, the sound of which was heard far and wide.
An investigation has been launched into the incident, Mr Sen said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar regarding the incident and said that the state administration is carrying out relief and rescue operations to provide all possible assistance to the victims.
The Chief Minister has directed Chief Secretary and DGP to probe the matter and take action.
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