A woman was seriously injured while a minor boy sustained some injuries in an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit near Karkala town in Udupi district on Wednesday.
Severely injured Sushma, 26, was shifted to the Udupi District Hospital after being administered initial treatment at Karkala Taluk Hospital. The boy, identified as Shabeer, was treated at a local hospital.
The incident occurred at the unit in Kaje near Himmunje in Karkala Kasaba. It belonged to one Abdul Khader of Banglegudde of Karkala, said complainant Vidya.
She alleged that knowing fully well the dangers involved, the unit operator got the manufactured crackers spread in the open yard to dry them in the morning. The crackers caught fire leading to the explosion, she said.
Said to be a licensed one, the unit was operational for many years. Firecrackers were being manufactured at three cottages of the unit while the sudden explosion completely damaged one unit, the complainant said.
Karkala Town Police have registered a case of negligence against the operator and are investigating.
Incident in January
In a similar explosion, three men died of injuries by an explosion in a fire cracker manufacturing unit in Kukkedy Gram Panchayat limits near Venur in Belthangady taluk on January 28 this year.
The unit had licence to manufacture 15 kg of firecrackers a day. As many as nine persons were working in the unit when the blast took place. Firecrackers manufactured at this unit was mainly used during Yakshagana performances.
