At least 13 persons died and nearly two dozen were injured when a powerful blast occurred inside a firecracker-manufacturing unit in India's southern state of Kerala on Tuesday, confirmed a local police officer.
Five among the injured were said to be in a critical condition. The incident was reported from the Mundathikode area in Kerala's Thrissur district. There were nearly 40 workers inside the unit when the blast occurred.
The impact of the blast was so great that its sound was heard several miles away, with debris and stones being flung far into the surrounding fields. People living in the immediate vicinity mistook it for an earthquake, said local media reports.
According to the police, firecrackers were being manufactured for the local festival, Thrissur Pooram, which is a few days away.
Tuesday's mishap assumed significance even as it came only two days after a similar incident at a firecracker factory in Kerala's neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, claiming 25 human lives. The blast was reported from Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district.
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