5 dead and several injured in firecracker factory explosion in UP

A deadly explosion at a firecracker factory operating in a house in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad on Tuesday claimed five lives and injured several others. Authorities fear that more victims could still be trapped under the rubble, according to the police. The explosion was so powerful that it caused neighboring buildings to collapse, intensifying the devastation.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed local authorities to ensure that all the injured receive immediate medical care and asked officials to speed up relief efforts. He also expressed his wishes for their swift recovery. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and sniffer dogs have been deployed at the site to assist in ongoing rescue operations.

Firozabad District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan confirmed that both district and sub-district hospitals are on high alert. He said, "Teams of doctors, ambulances, fire personnel, and disaster management are present on site." IG Agra Range Deepak Kumar further added that the blast’s intensity caused the roof of a neighboring house to collapse, but police were able to rescue 10 people from the debris.

Eyewitnesses have alleged that police were aware of illegal firecracker production in the area but had been bribed to ignore the operation. One resident, Manju Lata, claimed, "Everyone expected something like this to happen, but bribes stopped the police from taking action." Local sources also reported that 16 homes were destroyed in the explosion, which affected a radius of 5 km.