Gurdaspur, September 4: At least 23 people were killed and more than 25 injured in a blast at an unauthorised firecracker factory in Batala town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district on Wednesday. The blast, which damaged nearby homes and buildings, was followed by a huge fire with clouds of black smoke billowing out. The cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were engaged in operations to retrieve the bodies. West Bengal: Fire Breaks Out at Firecracker Factory in South 24 Parganas, 10 Injured.

According to locals, the firecracker factory in Batala was running illegally for the past many years. The unit was manufacturing and storing crackers for a nagar kirtan, a religious procession relating to the wedding anniversary celebrations of Sikhism's founder Guru Nanak Dev - slated to reach the town late Wednesday evening, IANS reported. One person was killed and three were injured in a similar blast occurred in this area in January 2017, a local said. 4 Dead Due to Fire Caused at Firecracker Factory in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar.

Expressing anguish over the loss of lives, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry into the explosion. Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Batala will conduct the inquiry into the tragic incident. The Chief Minister announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the seven severely injured. He also announced Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.

Batala Firecracker Factory Blast Video:

Amarinder Singh directed the Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, to provide the best possible treatment to the injured free of cost, besides asking SSP Batala to supervise the evacuation operations being carried out by the NDRF teams. BJP MP from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol too expressed grief over the blast. "Saddened to hear about the news of blast in Batala factory. NDRF teams and local administration has been rushed for rescue operation," Deol tweeted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2019 08:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).