At least four people, including two minors, were killed and seven critically injured in a powerful explosion at a crackers shop in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district on Saturday, police said. An employee of the shop and three other locals, who were probably purchasing the crackers, were killed in the explosion, police inspector Vikram Singh told reporters in Maharajganj, some 300 km from Lucknow.

The injured were admitted to hospitals in Maharajganj and Gorakhpur districts and their condition is stated to be critical, he added.

Police suspect an electrical short-circuit might be the cause of the blast.