- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
The injured were taken to hospital and conditions of some of them were critical, one official said.
By: Shubham Ghosh
ELEVEN people were killed while 60 got injured after a fire broke out inside a firecracker factory in Harda in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday (6). The fire caused several explosions in the factory and triggered panic in the nearby human settlements.
The injured were taken to hospital and conditions of some of them were critical, one official said. The intensity of the explosions were so big that even people living in distant areas said they felt tremors.
Mohan Yadav, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, spoke to officials and sought details about the incident. He said in a post on X in Hindi that state minister Uday Pratap Singh and other senior officials were going to the spot. Medical colleges in state capital Bhopal and Indore were asked to keep facilities prepared for treating burn injuries. Five fire engines were also deployed to the factory where the fire started.
Indian president Draudapi Murmu said she was extremely sad over the loss of lives in the incident. In a post in Hindi on X, she said, “The news of death of many people due to fire in Harda, Madhya Pradesh is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.”
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi also condoled the deaths and announced that Rs 2 lakh will be given to the next of the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured.
In a post on X, the prime minister’s office (PMO) quoted Modi as saying, “Distressed by the loss of lives due to the mishap at a cracker factory in Harda, Madhya Pradesh. Condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones. May those injured recover at the earliest. The local administration is assisting all those affected.”
“Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF (Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured will be given Rs 50,000,” Modi was quoted as saying.
हरदा में पटाखा फैक्ट्री में आग लगने का अत्यंत दुखद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ।
मंत्री श्री @udaypratapmp जी और वरिष्ठ अधिकारी घटना स्थल पर पहुंच रहे हैं।
भोपाल तथा इंदौर में मेडिकल कॉलेज और एम्स भोपाल में बर्न यूनिट को आवश्यक तैयारी करने को कहा है। साथ ही इंदौर व भोपाल से फायर ब्रिगेड…
— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) February 6, 2024
मध्यप्रदेश राज्य के हरदा क्षेत्र में बड़ी दुखद
घटना… ?वहा पटाखा फैक्ट्री में #Blast होने से तेज धमाके से आस पास के इलाक़े में भूकंप जैसे झटके महसूस हुए तथा 100 से ज्यादा लोग घायल व कई लोगों की मौत की भी खबर आ रही हैं।
ईश्वर इनकी रक्षा करे. ??#MadhyaPradesh #Harda pic.twitter.com/dgg3KQ2OoS
— DHARMENDRA SARAN (@MathsSaran) February 6, 2024
A video of the incident showed tall flames and smoke billowing from the factory and people running in fear in a nearby road.
One of the factory workers, who managed to flee the fire, later said that 150 of his colleagues were on the premises when the accident took place.
