LUCKNOW: A powerful explosion tore through a licensed firecracker manufacturing unit on the city’s outskirts on Monday, killing a 22-year-old woman, injuring a youth and flattening the entire structure, with the impact felt up to 2km away, triggering panic in surrounding villages.The blast occurred in Devti village under Nagram police station limits around noon. The force of the explosion reduced the factory to rubble, scattering debris and firecracker material across the site. Residents rushed out of their homes fearing a major disaster as the sound resembled a bomb blast.Police identified the deceased as Maria, 22, niece of the unit’s owner Mohammad Shafiq, 26. She suffered critical injuries and died during treatment. Mohit, 26, a local resident who was injured in the blast, is undergoing treatment with severe burn and impact injuries.Preliminary inquiry suggests Mohit was not a worker at the facility. He had reportedly entered the premises to drink water from a hand pump while grazing livestock nearby when the explosion occurred.Officials said the factory had a valid licence and was located on the outskirts, away from dense habitation, an aspect that possibly averted a larger tragedy. “Had it occurred closer to residential areas or during peak activity hours, casualties could have been much higher,” a local resident Vikas Chandra Sen said.Fire, police, SDRF and Bomb Disposal Squad teams rushed to the site soon after the first alert around noon. Fire tenders from multiple stations and a multi-disaster response vehicle were deployed to control the blaze and prevent further explosions.Rescue teams combed the debris for hours using heavy machinery amid fears of more victims trapped beneath.Investigators recovered remnants of explosives and are examining whether the blast was triggered by accidental ignition, improper storage or a technical fault. The unit reportedly had separate rooms for manufacturing, raw material and storage.DCP (South) Amit Kumar Anand said the fire was brought under control and the exact cause of the explosion would be ascertained after a detailed forensic probe.
Blasts In The Past
2025
- Aug 31| A couple were killed and five others injured after a blast in a firecracker unit in Behta area of Gudumba.
- April 8| Two sustained burns in explosion in firecracker unit in Gosaiganj.
2023
- April 13| Four people sustain burns in fire at a firecracker warehouse in Mahona road.
2022
- Oct 4| Blast rips through two storey house in BKT, illegal firecracker storage killing one.
2021
- Sep 22| explosion in firecracker unit several injured.
2019
- Feb 7| Seven injured in-home based firecracker unit in Mohanlalganj.
- Feb 25| One killed and one injured in illegal firecracker unit in Mohanlalganj
2018
- Jun 4| Three killed in explosion in an illegal firecracker factory in Kakori
