18 dead, 5 hurt in blast, blaze at cracker godown in Gujarat’s Banaskantha building in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Tuesday, officials said. The incident took place in an industrial area near Deesa town.
“As many as 18 persons died in the incident, and five others are injured after the slab of the building collapsed following a massive blast,” superintendent of police Akshayraj Makwana said. He said the victims were workers from Madhya Pradesh and their family members, and most of them died after the slab collapsed on them.
Chief minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the incident and announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.