People run away as smoke rises after blast and fire at a firecracker factory. More than 200 people were engaged in the work of manufacturing firecrackers at the unit located in the Bairagarh locality on Magardha Road, on the outskirts of Harda town, when they heard the first explosion at around 11 am on February 6. The factory's surrounding area witnessed chaos as people started running and struggling to reach a safer place.
An injured victim of the of Harda firecracker factory blast being shifted to the Government Hamidia hospital in Bhopal. Rescue operations continued through the night at the site of the incident.
Rescue officials at the site of the firecrackers factory. The firecracker unit was reduced to rubble, with scattered bodies, damaged homes and debris lying all around on roads and open areas. Many houses in the vicinity were damaged.
Congress State President Jitu Patwari with party MLAs meets victims during his visit to the firecracker factory. Two owners of the firecrackers factory were arrested by the police and booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other charges.
A policeman inspects the site of the firecrackers factory. The state government has constituted a three-member committee to be headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to conduct a detailed probe into the explosion at the firecrackers unit.
Firecrackers lie scattered at the site of the firecracker factory. The sound of the explosion was heard 25 kilometres away and eyewitnesses said body parts were scattered at a distance from the site and vehicles on a nearby road were hit by splinters.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inquires about the condition of the people injured in the Harda's firecrackers factory blast accident, at the Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal.
Family members of victims near the firecrackers factory. CM Yadav announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and said the entire cost of treatment of the injured persons will be borne by the state government.