21 die as blast flattens Gujarat firecracker godown

PALANPUR/AHMEDABAD: Twenty-one people, 18 of them from Madhya Pradesh, were killed when a massive explosion triggered the collapse of an illegally operated firecracker warehouse in an industrial area of Deesa town, in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, on Tuesday.
Police said most victims were buried under the debris; they had no time to escape as the blast brought the warehouse down. Most of them also sustained burns as the explosion triggered a fire fuelled by the firecrackers. Sources said that the warehouse owners also had started manufacturing firecrackers illegally. The victims included at least four children.

The explosion was so powerful that the body parts of some victims were found scattered across a farm 200-300 metres from the site, said Banaskantha collector Mihir Patel.
He added that the families of the deceased labourers were also living on the same premises.
The victims had arrived from MP just two days ago to work in the godown.