KATHMANDU: At least eight people, including seven women, were killed and four others sustained injuries when fire engulfed a ‘candle’ factory in a village near Modinagar in Ghaziabad district on Sunday afternoon.
It was an illegal unit being run in a building spread over 200 square yards. When it caught fire, there was an explosion and the roof came down. Ten workers were brought out by locals and around 20 people were trapped in the factory.
However, local sources alleged the factory, run by Nitin Chaudhary, made light firecrackers, particularly sparklers and party poppers used in birthday parties, and was in operation for a long time. Local media reports said explosive material could be seen at the site.
“Many of the employees were women who were given raw material to make sparklers at home,” Indian media reported.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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