Six migrant workers were killed and 14 others sustained burn injuries in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory in Himachal Pradesh's Una district on Tuesday, officials said.
The injured included nine women, they said, adding that 11 who were in serious condition were shifted to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur directed the Divisional Commissioner to inquire into the incident and submit a report within a week. The state government announced Rs four lakh assistance to the next of family of each of the dead, the officials said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and said Rs two lakh each from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the families of those killed in the incident. A sum of Rs. 50,000 would be given to each of the injured.
Una Deputy Commissioner Raghav Sharma told PTI that the incident occurred in the Bathu industrial area in Haroli tehsil of Una district and the victims are migrant labourers from other states.
He said strict action will be taken against officials who allowed the illegal factory to run.
Efforts are on to apprehend the factory owners, Superintendent of Police Arjit Sen told reporters.
Mr Sharma said information regarding the factory was being verified by the police and industries department.
Earlier, the state disaster management and the district administration stated that seven people were killed but later they revised the death count as six. The dead are yet to be identified. The injured have been identified as Narsala, Lasrat, Hasgiri, Jushi, Nasreen, Shakila, Esrat, Asma, Natisha, Muskan, Jafri, Farha, Jasheel, officials said They were currently residing at various places in the Una district while their permanent addresses are being ascertained, they added.
Expressing grief over the loss of lives, the chief minister directed the district administration to immediately provide relief to the affected persons and take stern action against the guilty.
Leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri demanded a judicial probe into the incident. He sought exemplary action against all those responsible for the mishap. Meanwhile, the village head (gram pradhan) Rekha Rana told the media that the crackers factory was being run illegally as no permission had been taken from the village panchayat.
She demanded stern action against the factory owners and others responsible for the incident. Locals claimed that weighing machines were being made in the factory about a year ago and no one knew about the manufacturing of crackers. SP Arjit Sen told the media that he did not get any document that showed that the factory was legal.
Officials said immediate assistance of Rs. 15,000 each is being provided to the 11 seriously injured in the tragic incident.
Similarly, Rs. 5,000 each has been provided to three persons admitted at Una hospital.
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