UP Fireworks stockpile explosion kills man in Pratapgarh

Pratapgarh (UP), Oct 11 (PTI) A 55-year-old man was killed in a building collapse triggered by a firecracker explosion in a three-storey house here on Friday, police said.
     The deceased was identified as Mukhtar Ahmed, a licensed firecracker maker and resident of Katra Medniganj, police said.
     The explosion occurred around 2 am inside Ahmed's house, in-charge of the Nagar Kotwali police station Inspector Arjun Singh said.
     "Due to the upcoming Dussehra and Diwali festivals, Mukhtar had stored a large quantity of fireworks on the upper floors of his house. A powerful explosion occurred late at night, which also caused a gas cylinder to burst, leading to the collapse of the top two floors of the building," the inspector said.
     "Mukhtar, along with his daughter-in-law (38) and daughter (25), were trapped under the debris. They were rescued and taken to the medical college for treatment, where doctors declared Mukhtar dead," he said.
     The two injured women were referred to SRN Hospital in Prayagraj after receiving initial treatment here, he added.
     Firefighters arrived at the scene and initiated rescue operations, police said.
     On October 7, three people were killed in an explosion at an illegal firecracker-making unit in Gonda, while six people died in a similar blast in Bareilly on October 3.
     In light of such incidents, the UP Police has directed officials across the state to check illegal firecracker manufacturing units and take action against those involved in it.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)