Gorakhpur: Fire erupts after series of blasts at firecracker unit; none injured

The crackers kept bursting after short intervals for at least 45 minutes, following which a massive fire broke out at the godown.

A series of blasts in a cracker manufacturing unit near the village Baraipar under Sahjanwa police station rocked the area on Saturday night. No one was injured in the incident, police said.

The exact reason for the fire breakout is not known and around 10,000 crackers were stored there. (FOR REPRESENTATION)

The crackers kept bursting after short intervals for at least 45 minutes, following which a massive fire broke out at the godown, they added. The blasts started at 11 pm.

A team of firefighters and senior police officials rushed to the spot and doused the fire after an hour of effort.

Police station incharge Mahendra Singh informed that the owner of the godown Imtiaz had a valid licence for manufacturing crackers. On Saturday, he locked the godown at 9 pm two hours after which the blasts took place.

The officials confirmed that Aftab Alam, Mohammad Maqbool and Imtiaz ran a cracker shop and used the godown as a manufacturing and storage unit which was in Baraipar. The workers used to prepare crackers on demand to supply for marriages and on Diwali thus a huge stock was stored in the godown to be sold on festivals.

Meanwhile, the owner of the godown Imtiaz said that the exact reason for the fire breakout is not known and said that around 10,000 crackers were stored there.

He alleged a conspiracy against him and claimed that someone might have thrown matches or cigarettes that led to the blasts.

Circle officer Ratnesh Singh said that police have initiated an inquiry into the case and were verifying the licence and storage capacity allowed by the concerned authorities.

According to officials an electricity transformer was also installed nearby and the possibility of sparking in the transformation that might have led to the blast could not be ruled out.

Abdur Rahman