SIWAN, October 24 (Aalimi Nation) – Five people were killed in a powerful explosion at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit run from a house in Alampur village of Bihar's Siwan district on Friday evening, police said. The blast brought down a two-storey building in the area under the Jamo Bazar police station.
Siwan Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni said the explosion occurred while firecrackers were allegedly being made inside the house. Flames then spread to a stock of firecrackers stored there, setting off further blasts. Witnesses said explosions continued intermittently for around two hours, which slowed rescue work.
Police initially confirmed three deaths, then four, before the toll was put at five. The village head said seven members of one family had been inside the house at the time, and the status of the remaining occupants was not immediately clear. Officials said the medical team would verify the casualty figures. The District Magistrate, Vijay Prakash Meena, said officials were working to identify the dead, adding that the bodies were badly damaged by the force of the explosions.
Some reports put the number of dead at seven. Officials have not confirmed that figure, and it should be treated as unverified until the search of the collapsed structure is complete.
The Superintendent of Police suspended the in-charge of the Jamo Bazar police station and a local village watchman, Chandrika Manjhi, over alleged negligence. The action was taken over alleged negligence in monitoring the area.
A First Information Report has been registered. A special investigation team headed by the Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Maharajganj has been formed to examine the case from all angles. A forensic science team reached the spot and collected samples to establish the exact cause of the blast and the quantity of material stored in the house. The area has been cordoned off.
Local residents told officials that the house belonged to a firecracker trader who ran the illegal unit. Police have not publicly said whether anyone has been named or detained, and the claim about who operated the unit remains a local account that investigators are yet to confirm.
Officials said the blast spread because firecrackers were stored in the same house where others were being made, setting off a chain of explosions. Police have not said whether the unit held any licence, but they have described it as illegal.
Officials have not announced compensation for the families of the victims. No injury count has been given, and it is not yet known whether any neighbouring houses were damaged.
The forensic findings and the progress of the search of the debris are expected to clarify the final death toll and the cause of the explosion. The special team is expected to establish who ran the unit, where the raw material came from, and whether any official lapses allowed the operation to continue. The district administration has not yet said whether it will carry out a wider check of similar illegal units in the area.
