Police suspect the incident occurred as some explosives must have caught fire. (Representational Image)
Five persons have been killed and four others were injured in an explosion in a two-storey building in Pitarkunda locality in Varanasi, police said today.
The explosion took place late last night in a two-storey building where firecrackers were being produced illegally.
At the time of explosion around nine persons were inside the house. Five of them have been killed and four others were critically injured, Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari said.
Three deceased have been identified as Sarfaraz, Shaba and Amina.
Police suspect that the incident occurred as some explosives must have caught fire.
The roof of the house also collapsed after the explosion. The injured were rushed to the BHU's Trauma Centre, he said, adding an investigation is still underway.
Firetenders were rushed to the spot which doused the fire. A NDRF team was also called in to carry out the rescue and relief operation, Mr Tiwari said.
District Magistrate Y R Mishra, Divisional Commissioner Nitin Ramesh Gokarn, DIG Sanjeev Gupta and other officers also rushed to the spot along with a large number of police personnel and brought the situation under control.