At least 11 people, including eight children aged between four and 13, were killed in a massive explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh. Five others remain seriously injured in hospital in Prayagraj. The blast was powerful enough to destroy the factory building and bring down at least five or six neighbouring homes, where several of the victims lived. More than a dozen fire engines, around two dozen ambulances, police, national and state disaster-response teams and military personnel were deployed. Train traffic on the major Delhi–Howrah route was suspended for about an hour because of the danger, with one express service forced to turn back.
The investigation has uncovered a particularly serious issue: the factory had received an explosives licence in 2019 that was originally valid until 2026, but authorities cancelled it in 2024. Despite that, fireworks production continued. Police have opened a case against six people, including factory operator Adil, and formed four teams to locate those accused. Proceedings are being pursued under criminal law and India’s Explosives Act, while district officials have promised a wider inquiry into how an operation handling large quantities of explosive material was allowed to continue for two years without a valid licence. The precise technical cause of the initial explosion has not yet been established.
The Uttar Pradesh government announced compensation of 200,000 rupees for the family of each person killed and 50,000 rupees for the injured, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced additional assistance at the same levels. The disaster again raises questions about enforcement of safety standards in India’s fireworks industry, which has suffered repeated deadly accidents. In Kaushambi, however, the central issue is becoming larger than the immediate cause of the blast: investigators now need to establish not only what ignited the explosives, but how an unlicensed factory was able to keep operating in a residential area after its permit had already been revoked.
Sources: PTI, Hindustan Times, Times of India, Uttar Pradesh police and district administration.
