1 killed, 12 injured in fireworks factory fire

One person died and 12 were injured when a fire broke out at a fireworks factory on Sunday in South 24 Parganas district's Sonarpur area, police said.

The owner of the factory, who was also injured in the fire, has been detained, Sonarpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Paresh Roy said.

Debasish Sardar (19), a worker of the factory, succumbed to his injuries late at night at the state-run Chittaranjan Hospital in Kolkata, a senior hospital official told PTI.

He said that five injured persons were brought to the hospital on Sunday evening. While two of them were released after preliminary medical assistance. one among the three others died.

After the fire broke out, the injured were taken to Baruipur hospital. The condition of five worsened and they were referred to Chittaranjan Hospital in the city.

The incident occurred at Sonarpur's Gobindopur area.

Three fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames which broke out at the factory at around 12.40 pm, a fire department official said.

"This was a small factory with only a tin shed. There were some finished and unfinished firecrackers at the site," the official said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, a police officer said adding that there were a few explosions in the factory which damaged a few nearby houses.

The fire was doused at around 3.40 pm, he said.

"The owner is undergoing treatment in the hospital and we are waiting for his release to question him," the police officer said.

Other materials and commodities used to manufacture firecrackers were seized from the factory, the officer added.