Gujarat firecracker godown blast: Last rites of 18 victims held in MP

Dewas/Harda: The mortal remains of 18 of the 21 victims of a blast at an illegal firecracker warehouse in Gujarat's Banaskantha district were consigned to flames on the banks of the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district on Thursday.

Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Ashish Govind Sharma, who attended the cremation of the victims held in Nemawar town of Dewas, said he was deeply saddened by the sight of the mass funeral and prayed to Maa Narmada that such a tragedy should not recur.

The 18 victims included 10 from Dewas district and eight from neighbouring Harda district in MP, officials said.

Twenty one persons, including five children, were killed and six others injured following a massive explosion at the illegal firecracker warehouse near Deesa in Gujarat's Banaskantha district on Tuesday.

A man, who works in a plastic factory at Dholka in Ahmedabad, lost his daughter, her husband, two minor grandchildren and two other members of his son-in-law's family in the tragedy at the godown which had no valid license to store firecrackers.

After attending the cremation of the victims, Khategaon MLA Ashish Govind Sharma told reporters that the mortal remains were brought here 48 hours after the incident.

He said among these victims, 10 were from his constituency while eight belonged to Handia (Harda district).

"For the first time in my life I have seen such a tragic scene. I pray to Maa (Narmada river) that we should not see such a tragic scene in future," said Sharma, who played a major role in facilitating transportation of the bodies from the Gujarat town.

"We are with the families of the victims and will ensure that they do not suffer in future in the absence of their breadwinners. The government and we all stand with them in their hour of grief," Sharma said.

Former minister and senior BJP leader Kamal Patel, who was also present on the occasion, said the incident as painful.

"The BJP governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh, and the party stand with the victims, and will provide all possible assistance to the victims' families, including taking care of the education of their children," Patel said.

CM Yadav had earlier announced a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured persons.

Police on Tuesday night arrested warehouse owners Deepak Mohnani and his father Khubchand Mohnani.

The explosion was so powerful that it sent body parts flying 200-300 metres away. Family members of some of the workers who stayed on the premises were crushed to death after heavy chunks of the RCC roof slab fell on them, collector Mihir Patel said.

The Gujarat government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a probe into the warehouse explosion, while forensic examination found a small container of aluminium powder, one of the ingredients to make firecrackers, at the spot, officials earlier said.