8 members of family dead as firecrackers at Bengal home-factory explode

Samir Kumar Jana, the ruling TMC legislator from Patharpratima, who went to the spot, said it was a licensed factory

At least eight members, including children, of a family were killed when firecrackers stored inside a home-cum-factory went off in the remote Patharpratima area of the Sunderbans in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Monday night, police said.

The youngest victim was an eight-month-old. (Shutterstock)

The youngest victim was an eight-month-old. The older children were around 10 and 12 years old. The eldest victim, a woman, was 80. The explosion took place inside the home-cum-factory of Chandrakanta Banik, local people told the media. At least three more members of the family were injured and rushed to Diamond Harbour Medical College and Hospital. Police sealed the house around midnight

“The dead were all members of the Banik family. It appears that the firecrackers went off and a couple of LPG cylinders exploded as well. The intensity of the blasts was severe. Only forensic experts can analyse the cause. The site of the explosion is covered by debris,” a local police officer said on condition of anonymity. “The villagers said there were at least five explosions.”.

Samir Kumar Jana, the ruling Trinamool Congress legislator from Patharpratima, who rushed to the spot, said it was a licensed factory. “The firecrackers were made for a puja. Three children and four adults died at the hospital,” Jana told the media.