Ahmedabad:At least five people were killed, and nine others were injured after a powerful explosion ripped through an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in Ahmedabad's Vastral area on Saturday, triggering a major fire and a large-scale rescue operation, officials said.
Authorities said the death toll could rise as search operations continued into the evening. The explosion occurred at the factory on Ramol-Gatrad Road behind the Rapid Action Force (RAF) camp.
The blast was so powerful that it was heard up to five kilometres away and caused extensive damage to the structure.
Firefighters said the building suffered significant destruction, with debris trapping several workers inside.
Personnel from the nearby RAF camp rushed to the site immediately after hearing the explosion and began rescuing people trapped under the debris before fire brigade teams arrived.
More than five fire engines were deployed to contain the blaze, which was later brought under control, while cooling operations continued to prevent any fresh flare-ups.
The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals, including L.G. Hospital and Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Officials said several victims were admitted with burn injuries and trauma, while rescue teams continued searching the damaged premises.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector-2) Jaipal Singh Rathore told IANS that, at the time of his briefing, "Five people are dead. Eight to nine injured have all been rusahed to hospital. The fire has been brought under control. It is not a big establishment."
Senior civic and police officials, including Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation officers, Zone-8 Deputy Commissioner of Police Mayur Patil and JCP Rathore, visited the site to oversee rescue and relief operations.
Police said preliminary findings indicated that the firecracker unit was operating illegally.
According to reports, investigators identified the operator as Mehul Dodiya and said the factory's licence had previously been cancelled, but manufacturing activities were allegedly continuing.
Authorities have launched an investigation into both the cause of the explosion and the alleged illegal operation of the unit.
The identities of several victims were still being verified late on Saturday as rescue operations continued.
--IANS
