Blast in house storing crackers kills three in Agra

This is the second such incident in Uttar Pradesh in less than a week after an explosion in a toy factory in Aligarh killed five people on Tuesday.

Three persons were killed and four others were seriously injured on Sunday afternoon when a gas cylinder exploded in a house where crackers were stored, police said.

The explosion completely destroyed the house and damaged to other adjoining houses in the crowded Azampada area of Agra on Sunday. (ANI)

The house was in Agra’s densely populated locality of Azampada. Two other houses in the vicinity were also damaged due to the high intensity blast.

Those seriously injured were taken to the SN Medical College and Hospital here. Two of them were critical, district magistrate Prabhu N Singh said.

“The exact reason for the blast is yet to be ascertained as the focus is on relief work at present. Medical teams are being instructed to take care of those admitted with severe burns,” said the DM.

He said the deceased were yet to be identified.

“We have already started the process of not renewing the licenses for these cracker units in crowded areas. No such licenses are to be issued further,” he said.

The explosion took place at around 1 pm on Sunday afternoon and was magnified by crackers stored in the house. The intensity was such that it damaged two houses and caused cracks in walls of nearby houses in Azampada locality.