The death toll in the fire accident at a cracker shop in the outskirts of Bengaluru increased to 14 on Sunday, October 8 following the death of two more people. The fire tragedy was reported from Attibele in Anekal taluk on Saturday. The mishap occurred when firecrackers were being unloaded into the godown. According to reports, the godown was a makeshift structure with a tin-sheet roof, and the fire which spread quickly gutted several shops in its vicinity.
The Karnataka government on Saturday, announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the people who were killed in the fire. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar visited the site late Saturday. He announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragedy. Four persons managed to escape before the fire completely engulfed the building. The Fire Department officials and emergency services personnel later brought the blaze under control.
"It is suspected that a few more persons are trapped. According to preliminary information, most of the trapped and killed laborers are from Tamil Nadu. The identities are yet to be ascertained. Those who had come to the shop for purchase feared dead in the fire incident. An investigation will be conducted to find the exact reason behind the incident. As per the information the permission was taken for the godown and not for the shop," Shivakumar said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that action should be taken against the owners of cracker shop. "Action will be taken after checking whether the firecracker warehouse has taken precautionary and safety measures," he said.
Bengaluru Rural SP Mallikarjuna Baladandi stated that the fire tragedy had occurred in the Balaji crackers shop while unloading the crackers from the canter. The fire later spread to the godown and other places.
"The FSL team will make the assessment and we are checking the license of the cracker shop," the police officer said. It has been learnt that firecrackers worth crores of rupees were gutted in the incident. Three four-wheelers and four bikes were also burnt in the incident.
With IANS inputs