3 killed, 32 injured as heap of firecrackers explodes in Puri

Puri, May 30 (PTI) At least three persons, including a minor, died and 32 others were injured after a stockpile of firecrackers exploded during Lord Jagannath’s Chandan Jatra festival in Odisha’s Puri, police said on Thursday.

Hundreds of people had gathered on the banks of Narendra Pushkarinee, a water body, to witness the rituals when the accident happened on Wednesday night, a senior officer said.

“One boy succumbed to his injuries at SCB Medical College in Cuttack and two others died while undergoing treatment in private hospitals in Bhubaneswar,” he said.

Odisha Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena, Khurda Collector Chanchal Rana and Health Secretary Shalini Pandit visited different hospitals late Wednesday night to supervise the treatment of the injured people.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday morning visited a private hospital here to meet the injured persons.

Patnaik talked to doctors of the health facility and enquired about the condition of the patients.

The injured people were admitted to various private and government hospitals in Puri, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the health secretary said.

“Several teams of doctors are trying their best to save the lives of the injured people. As the first 48-hour period is critical for such cases, we are monitoring their health condition,” Pandit told reporters this morning.

She said that the state government is bearing the treatment cost of all those injured in the accident.

A group of devotees were celebrating the festival with crackers. Suddenly, a splinter from the burning crackers struck the heap, leading to the explosion, said Puri SP Pinak Mishra.