Two dead in Andhra after fire breaks out at firecracker stalls in Vijayawada

The fire broke out in a cluster of firecracker shops in the Gymkhana Grounds in Vijayawada’s Gandhinagar, located across a fuel station.
Fire breaks out at firecracker stalls in Vijayawada
Fire breaks out at firecracker stalls in Vijayawada
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Two persons were charred to death in a fire that broke out in a cluster of firecracker shops in Vijayawada in the early hours of Sunday, October 23. On the occasion of Deepavali, around 18 firecracker shops were set up in the Gymkhana Grounds in Vijayawada’s Gandhinagar. In the early hours of Sunday, a fire began in one of the shop and soon, the other stalls caught fire.Three stalls were completely burnt down while others were partially burnt. According to police, one of the three shops that were destroyed in the fire had workers who appeared to have been sleeping there. Several others were also injured in the blast, and were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

There is a fuel station exactly opposite the ground where the firecracker shops were set up for Deepavali but the blaze did not spread till there, as at least four fire tenders rushed to the spot to douse the flames. As a result of the explosive sound and smoke caused by the fire, people who lived in nearby homes were suddenly jolted out of their sleep. Local residents raised a protest over permitting the firecracker shops to be set up on the ground when a fuel station was located right opposite it. They questioned authorities as they were concerned about the magnitude of loss that would result if the fuel station had caught fire.

Vijayawada Central MLA Malladi Vishnu and city Commissioner of Police Kanthi Rana Tata visited the grounds to assess the situation. The origin of the fire was still being investigated by police and fire services. A similar incident took place in Tirupati district on October 22 around midnight, as a fire broke out in two firecracker shops set up in Vadamalapeta mandal. However, no casualties were reported. 

With PTI inputs

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