Bhubaneswar: The death toll in the explosion in an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in Khurda district mounted to five after one of the four injured persons succumbed to burn injuries, police said Tuesday.
Dolagobinda Behera (60), who had suffered more than 60 per cent burn injuries, succumbed at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, police said, adding that four persons – Sahadeb Behera (75), Brundaban Sahoo (38), Niranjan Behera (35) and Baraju Behera (30) had earlier died on the spot Monday.
The incident took place at Bhusandapur village in Khurda district, about 40 km from here Monday. The explosion occurred when eight people were making firecrackers for the Holi festival.
Khurda District Collector K Sudarshan Chakrovarty and SP Siddharth Kataria, who rushed to the accident site, said that firecracker manufacturing was being done without having any legal permission.
Of the four injured persons, two were admitted to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack while the other two shifted to AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, police said.
Last week, three workers of an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit were killed in the Jagatsinghpur district following an explosion.