n a major tragedy, 21 people were killed and five others injured after a blast at a firecracker warehouse led to a blaze and collapse of the building in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Tuesday. The incident took place in an industrial area near Deesa town at around 9.45 am.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the incident and announced a financial assistance of ` four lakh to the families of the deceased and `50,000 to the injured persons. “As many as 18 persons died in the incident, and five others are injured after the slab of the building collapsed following a massive blast,” Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana said. He said the victims were workers from Madhya Pradesh and their family members, and most of them died after the slab collapsed on them. The unit was meant to store firecrackers, and so far no clue has been found that firecrackers were being manufactured, Makwana said. “The incident of the death of workers due to fire and slab collapse in a firecracker godown in Deesa is heart-breaking. My heartfelt condolences are with the relatives of the deceased in this hour of grief,” Patel said in a social media post. "The local administration is assisting those affected. An ex-gratia of `two lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. Injured would be given `50,000," the PMO posted on X.
