Ghaziabad:Five people were injured in an explosion while filling fireworks into effigies being prepared for the Ramlila in Sahibabad’s Lajpat Nagar on Monday morning, police said.
The centre was being used to store the effigies. “Five people, including the contractor, were working at the site when fireworks stored there exploded. All five are from Pilkhuwa in the Hapur district. Anil, the contractor, sustained a severe head injury. The other two suffered comparatively minor burns. All five are undergoing treatment, police added. However, it was later found that the incident had taken place at the community centre. “The fire was quickly brought under control. An inspection later found that the explosion involved fireworks being used for effigies,” the official added.
The five injured were identified as Anil Singh, 45, his son Rishabh Singh, 30, Raju (single name), 34, Rajat Kumar, 30, and Mahendra Kumar, 36, according to the police. Raju suffered about 80% burns, while Rishabh suffered about 60% burns. Fire department officials said they received information about a fire at a firecracker shop around 9.26am.
Police said the incident took place around 9am at a community centre near the Ramlila ground, where workers were preparing effigies. The blast damaged parts of the community centre and caused the outer wall to collapse,” said Amit Saxena, ACP of Sahibabad.
