At least seven persons, including four children, were killed in a blast at a house with a firecracker manufacturing unit in the Patharpratima area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, on Monday night.

Police said that many people are still feared trapped in the rubble of the house.

“In the primary investigation, we found that the blast took place in the premises of one Chandrakanta Banik’s house around 9.30 pm. He has a firecracker factory inside the premises. The fire from the blast spread in the whole house, and two gas cylinders also exploded,” a local police officer said.

Fire officials, who reached the spot, said they recovered seven dead. Police suspect that many more people may be locked inside the house.

“Seven bodies have been recovered. The rescue operation is still going on,” Superintendent of Police (Sundarbans) Koteswar Rao said.

Residents of the area said that the entrance to Banik’s house was on a narrow road, leading to difficulty for the fire brigade team to reach the house.

“The sound of the explosion was heard from around 1 km away. “How far as I know, Banik has a licence to manufacture firecrackers, but why the blast took place and why it spread is subject to investigation,” the MLA added.