NEW DELHI: At least eight people died and 80 were injured on Tuesday in a giant explosion at a firework factory in India that saw balls of flames soar into the sky, officials said.

Footage on Indian television showed a tower of flame after the explosion at the firecracker plant, with dozens of ambulances sent and army helicopters called in to evacuate the wounded.

Senior district police official Rajeshwari Mahobia said there were “eight deaths so far and around 80 injured”, at the factory in Harda in Madhya Pradesh state, adding that “the death toll is likely to go up”. Images from the factory site showed a wasteland of blackened and smoking rubble.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2024