A woman was killed in a blast at a firecracker factory in Butrada village of Shamli district on Monday afternoon, police said. The factory where the blast occurred belonged to a local Mohd Rizwan who has a licence for running it. The name and age of the deceased were yet to be established, the police added.
Confirming the incident, superintendent of police, Shamli, Sukirti Madhav said a case was being registered against the factory owner. He said labourers were preparing firecrackers when blast took place due to negligence of some workers. One woman died in the blast while other labourers did not suffer any injury, he added.
Initial reports, however, said many labourers were likely to be trapped under the debris of a portion of the factory which collapsed by the impact of the blast. Rescue teams and police cleared the debris with the help of villagers. The body was later sent for a post-mortem examination.