The death toll in the blast at a firecracker manufacturing unit housed in a residence in the Patharpratima area of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has risen to eight. The death toll includes four children.
On Monday night, the police found seven bodies from the house after the blast. Four seriously injured persons were taken to hospital. One of them, Sutapa Banik, succumbed on Tuesday morning.
Those whose bodies were recovered from the house were identified as Aurobindu Banik (65), Anuska Banik (6), Pravabati Banik (80), Santana Banik (28), Arnab Banik (9), Ashmita Banik (8 months) and Ankit Banik (6 months).
Police said that many people are still feared trapped under the debris left behind after the blast.
“In a preliminary investigation, we found that the blast took place in the premises of one Chandrakanta Banik’s house around 9.30 pm. He has a firecracker factory inside the premises. The fire from the blast spread through the whole house, and two gas cylinders exploded,” a local police officer said on Monday.
However, the police also claimed that on Tuesday morning, they found a bag full of crude bombs near Baniks’ house.
Residents of the area said that the entrance to Banik’s house was on a narrow road, leading to difficulty for the fire brigade team to reach the house.
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“The sound of the explosion was heard from around 1 km away. As far as I know, Banik has a licence to manufacture firecrackers but why the blast took place and how the fire spread is subject of investigation,” said TMC’s Patharpratima MLA Samir Jana.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd