At least 13 people died in a blast in an “illegal” cracker manufacturing factory in East Godavari district on Monday. Seven others were rushed to Kakinada Government Hospital in a critical condition.
As it was an unauthorised factory, police do not have record of how many people were working in the unit when the blast took place. The blast occurred at Vakatippa village Uppada Kottpally mandal, 5 kms away from Kakinada city during lunch break.
Senior officials, including district Superintendent of Police (SP) Ravi Prakash rushed to the incident spot. “It is not clear how the blast took place. We are conducting a probe in to it,” the SP said.
The crackers unit was located next to the revenue department office in the village. Fire tenders struggled for several hours before the fire could be brought under control.
Officials guessed that there could have been 25 to 30 people working in the crackers unit. “luckily it happened during the lunch break. Otherwise the loss of life could have been higher,” the SP added.
The incident occurred even as Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had appealed to the people of Andhra Pradesh not to burst crackers especially in Visakhapatnam which suffered unprecedented damage in the Hudhud cyclone.
As hundreds and thousands of trees were uprooted by the cyclone and there was apprehension that the dried up leaves and trees may work as catalyst for fire due to the bursting of crackers, officials have decided not to issue licence to cracker shops this year. “We have cancelled the licences already issued,” JV Ramudu, the Director General of Police (DGP), said. The police have launched a drive to remove the stalls of crackers already set up in Visakhapatnam.
“Instead of bursting crackers, I appeal to the people to celebrate the festival of lighting lamps and candles,” Chief Minister Naidu said. He expresses deep shock over the loss of lie in the blast and conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families.