Visakhapatnam: Two persons were killed in a massive explosion at a crackers manufacturing unit in a village 22 km from here. Five others are fighting for their lives at a hospital in Vizag. Six of them were said to belong to the same family.
This is the second explosion at the unit; three persons were killed in an explosion in 2012. It lost licence after that incident and was now running with a permit. The unit is located at Gullepalli village under Sabbavaram mandal of Visakhapatnam district.
It is learnt that the workers were manufacturing crackers in view of the elections.
According to locals, chemicals and crackers in the unit exploded at about 11 am. Police soon reached the spot and the victims were shifted to King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam. Two persons were declared dead at hospital, and the condition of the others, who had sustained up to 90 per cent burns, was serious.
The unit is being run by one D. Satyanarayana, who was arrested after the 2012 blast. He was present near the unit and came out just five minutes before the explosion.
The crackers unit runs from a shed which is equipped with fire-fighting equipment. Witnesses said the victims would have had no time to use the equipment.
Visakhapatnam Rural SP A. Babujee has inspected the spot in the evening. The police has taken Satyanarayana into custody and registered cases under IPC Section 304 Part 2, Section 3 and 5 of Explosive Substance Act.
D. Kotamma, 22, and S. Durga Rao, 55, died in the hospital. D. Satyam, 55, D. Gangamma, 49, D. Ravulamma, 30, D. Chinna, 30 and D. Kanakaraju, 30, are in a critical state.
Speaking to mediapersons, KGH superintendent G. Arjuna said, “All of them were brought to the hospital with 80 to 90 per cent burns.”
