Twelve persons were killed and four injured in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Pingla in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district on Wednesday night.
Most of the deceased were reportedly child workers, as the industry employs many.
While factory owner Ranjan Maiti was arrested on Thursday, co-owner of the factory Ram Maiti, his wife and son were killed in the explosion.
The factory was razed to the ground and the impact of the explosion sent bodies flying. Many bodies and mangled body parts were lodged on trees near the factory and a car standing close by was burnt.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a probe by the Crime Investigation Department into the blast. “It is an unfortunate incident. The blast occurred while crackers were being made for the wedding season,” Ms. Banerjee said at a public meeting at South 24 Parganas district.
CID and forensic teams had already reached the site and recovered identity cards and receipts from a cracker factory in Chennai.
Terming the factory illegal, Inspector-General of Police, Western Zone, Siddh Nath Gupta, said: “More crackers were being made due to the wedding season. Most of the workers hail from other States.”
