New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed grief over the death of 23 people in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Punjab.

Twenty-seven people were injured in the blast in Batala of Gurdaspur district on Wednesday. The blast took place around 4 pm at the factory located in a residential area.

"I am heartbroken by the blast in firecracker factory in Batala. I express my condolence to the families of the victims who lost their lives and I wish for speedy recovery of the people injured in the incident," he tweeted.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)