2024 Madhya Pradesh factory blast survivor escapes with life amid godown explosion in Gujarat

Deesa, Gujarat: Rajesh Nayak, a labourer who survived the 2024 blast at a firecracker factory at Harda in Madhya Pradesh, had a providential escape again one year later when his new workplace in Gujarat, also a cracket unit, was rocked by an explosion a day after he joined duty.

Rajesh Nayak said he joined work at a firecracker warehouse near Deesa town in Banaskantha district on Monday, and on Tuesday his workplace turned into a heap of rubble following the powerful explosion and a subsequent blaze which flattened the structure.

He, however, lost his 19-year-old younger brother besides an aunt and her three children in the blast. They were among 21 people, including five children and as many women, who were killed in the blast at the warehouse which was not authorised to stock or manufacture firecrackers.

Rajesh Nayak, who hails from Handia village in Harda district in the adjoining state, had joined work at the warehouse with his younger brother Vishnu Nayak.

The labourer said he had survived the firecracker factory blast at Harda in Madhya Pradesh in February 2024 when 11 people were killed. He and other persons from his village moved to Gujarat for work after the factory at Harda shut down.

At the Deesa factory blast, all those who accompanied Rajesh Nayak to work were killed, but he found himself surviving another tragedy for a second time in little over a year.

"I worked at a firecracker factory at Harda. There was a blast at the Harda factory, after which it shut down. We moved here after we lost our job there. My younger brother Vishnu, who was with me, died in the blast. My aunt Guddibai, and her three children also died in the blast," he said.

"We arrived here on Sunday, and started work on Monday. Me and my brother has just stepped out when we heard a loud explosion," Rajesh Nayak said.

He informed that workers were paid Rs 500 for making 1,000 'sutli' bombs (a type of firecracker).

Rajesh Nayak had stepped out to drink water when the explosion ripped through the premises.

"I was drinking water with my face turned in the opposite direction. When the explosion rocked the factory, I turned back but could see nothing except smoke," he recalled.

He and others from Handia village were brought to Deesa town by a labour contractor identified as Lakshmi Nayak, who was among those who died.

Another Madhya Pradesh resident, Chandrasinh Nayak, is also in a state of shock as six members of his married daughter Sunita's family were among those who perished in the blast.

Chandrasinh Nayak said he had asked his daughter to meet him when she came to Gujarat with her in-laws' family, including her husband and two children, for work after Holi from their village in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.

Instead, it was Chandrasinh Nayak, who works at a plastic factory at Dholka in Ahmedabad, who had to rush to Deesa on Tuesday, covering a distance of around 200 km, to look for them among the 21 deceased.

Struggling to control his tears, Chandrasinh Nayak said his daughter Sunita (19), who was married to Lakhan Nayak of Sandalpur village in MP, was among six members of her in-laws' family who had come to Deesa to work at the firecracker godown.

"Four days back, she said she was going to Gujarat for work. I asked her to meet me when she was here. I didn't even know about the factory where they were going to work," he said, and broke down when talking about his toddler grandson and granddaughter who were among those who died.

Meanwhile, 19 bodies of the victims were sent to their native places in Madhya Pradesh after their identification by their relatives. Two deceased persons were yet to be identified.

Hours after the blast, police arrested the father-son duo who owned the godown.

Deepak Mohnani and his father Khubchand Mohnani were arrested by a team of the Banaskantha police from neighbouring Sabarkantha district on Tuesday night, police said.

The blast-hit warehouse, Deepak Traders, was owned by them.

The explosion, which occurred approximately at 9.45 am on Tuesday, flattened the godown near Deesa town, around 30km from the Banaskantha district headquarters.

The blast was so intense that it sent body parts of workers flying 200-300 metres away. The impact brought down the RCC slab of the structure. Family members of workers staying on the premises were crushed to death after blocks of slabs fell on them, district collector Mihir Patel.