Two women and a child were charred to death and four other labourers seriously injured when a consignment of firecrackers to be used in New Year celebrations exploded at a manufacturing unit in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday afternoon.

The condition of one of the injured women is critical as she has received 90 per cent burns in the mishap that occurred at Sri Bhavani firecracker manufacturing unit in Kommarapalem village, they said.

“The explosion triggered fire in a makeshift shelter erected specially to package the manufactured firecrackers when some of the labourers reportedly tried to test whether the ingredients are in right proportion,” Ramachandrapuram DSP Srinivas said, adding that three fire tenders brought the blaze under control.

The packaged crackers were supposed to be delivered today to clients today.

“We are yet to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion. We suspect that the explosion occurred when some labourers tried to test the manufactured firecrackers. We will get a clear picture only after gathering circumstantial evidence from the spot,” Srinivas said.

According to police, the factory has a licence to manufacture firecrackers and no arrests have been made so far.

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