Bhopal: A massive fire in a firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh has killed 11 people and injured over 60. The videos of the factory in the town of Harda doing rounds on social media show giant plumes of smoke and fire. Authorities are battling the flames with dozens of fire brigade engines, ambulances and even army helicopters at the scene.
“We can confirm seven deaths so far,” said an official from Harda district hospital initially after which the toll was updated to 11.
“We have 65 injured admitted here, and have referred 10 others to a bigger hospital.”
“At least eight people had very serious injuries… we are here at the site and focussed on rescue work and sending people to the hospitals, so we can’t immediately confirm the number of dead,” said Kailash Chand Parte, a senior district official who was co-ordinating rescue effort.
“We have managed to rescue about 70 to 75 people with injuries so far. All of them have been rushed to local government hospitals.”
Parte said that around 200 to 300 people worked at the factory. Though it is feared that many of them are still inside the factory, the exact number is not clear.
“At least 10 buildings around the complex where the blast happened have been damaged because of the intensity of the explosion”, he added.
“The fire is still not under control and we have around 15 fire engines and many rescue workers at the site”.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has taken cognisance of the tragedy and said that instructions had been given to major hospitals in the areas to “make necessary preparations”.
