West Bengal: 1 more dies in Pathar Pratima blast, toll rises to 8
Times of India | 1 April 2025
KOLKATA: Eight persons so far died in an explosion at a house in Patharpratima in South 24 Parganas. The house in Dholahat, where 11 people lived, was also used for stocking ingredients used to manufacture firecrackers, local sources said.
Police said the explosion that ripped a section of the concrete house was due to a gas explosion.
Among the dead are four children, including two six-month-old babies, Asmita Banik and Ankit Banik. The other deceased are Prabhabati Banik, Arabinda Banik, Swantana Banik, Arnab Banik, Anushka Banik, and Sutapa Jana. All of them died of burn injuries that were caused after the entire house was engulfed in fire following the explosion.
According to Sundarban police district SP Koteswara Rao, claims about the fireworks being manufactured in the house where the blast took place are wrong.
"The building is situated in a residential area, and there is no question of a firecracker unit there," he said, adding that forensic examination of the blast site would reveal whether some items found in the house were raw materials stocked for manufacturing firecrackers. He further said there were two gas cylinders in the house.
Pathar Pratima's TMC MLA Samir Kumar Jana said the family owned an authorised firecracker manufacturing unit a few metres away from the house.
"They were running the business for quite some time, and I have the information that they had the license. Last night, the blast took place in their house. Probably they stored some raw materials to manufacture firecrackers there, leading to this disaster," he said.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged the building where the incident happened was a "crude bomb manufacturing unit".
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