2 killed as huge fire breaks out in Andhra in cluster of cracker stalls

Two people were killed as a massive fire broke out in a cluster of cracker shops in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada on Sunday morning. The incident was reported at the Gymkhana ground in the Gandhi Nagar locality. According to police, the incident occurred while unloading crackers from a van.

A video from the site of the incident shows the stalls wrapped in huge flames; the bursting of crackers can also be heard. Confirming the two deaths, Vijayawada Police Commissioner Kanti Rana said all the shops were given safety permissions. “Though initially it’s been suspected that the crackers were country-made, the actual reason is being ascertained,” an official statement read.

The deceased have been identified as Kasi from Vijayawada and Samba from Piduguralla town. They were asleep in the stalls at the time of the blaze. Of the 19 shops in the area, three were gutted. “All precautionary measures such as stationing of fire personnel and presence of hand held fire extinguishers were provided at all the shops. As soon as the fire broke out, the fire personnel swung into action were able to douse the fire,” Rana added.

People residing in the vicinity were also reportedly jolted out of their sleep due to explosive noises. Local MLA Malladi Vishnu also visited the spot to take stock of the situation, news agency PTI reported.

Meanwhile, in a similar incident, a fire was reported to have broken out at a shop selling firecrackers in the Nalasopara area of Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Saturday. According to the police, no casualties were reported in the incident, however, the entire stock of firecrackers in the shop was destroyed and loud sounds of the crackers bursting were heard in the locality.