At least 20 people were killed and six others critically injured in a massive explosion at a firecracker unit in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district. “We have information that 20 people were killed in the incident,” Kakinada Superintendent of Police G Bindu Madhav told PTI.
According to the office of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, he reviewed the firecracker factory blast in Kakinada and discussed the incident and ongoing rescue efforts with officials.
In an official statement, the CMO said, “Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu spoke to officials regarding the accident in Kakinada. The Chief Minister reviewed the explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit at Vetlapalem, Samarlakota Mandal, Kakinada district. The Chief Minister inquired about the causes of the accident and the ongoing rescue and relief operations at the Surya accident site where 20 people were injured. He expressed grief over the large number of firecracker workers who came for his life, the Chief Minister ordered ministers and senior officials to visit the accident site.
Officials told the news agency that the intensity of the blast at Vetlapalem village in Samarlakota mandal was so strong that bodies were thrown into nearby paddy fields. Police added that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire that sparked the explosion.
According to the superintendent of the Kakinada State General Hospital, seven patients with burns ranging from 90 to 100 percent have been admitted and are currently undergoing treatment.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the death of several workers of the Surya Fireworks unit.
“The blast at the biscuit factory in Vetlapalem village of Kakinada district really pained me. Several people lost their lives in this accident is sad,” Naidu said in a post on ‘X’.
There were gruesome scenes in the surrounding agricultural fields as locals were seen moving the bodies using ‘barakal’, sheets made from fertilizer sacks. Fire and thick smoke continued to rise from the scene as ambulances rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.
Naidu said he had spoken to the officials about the incident and instructed them to provide immediate assistance to the victims.
“We are monitoring the rescue work and will come to help the affected families,” he said.
Officials said about 20 people were working at the biscuit factory at the time of the explosion. The chief minister also directed senior officials and ministers to visit the accident site.
Police deployed drones to search surrounding agricultural fields for body parts believed to have been thrown by the force of the explosion.
