Punjab cracker unit blast leaves four dead (Lead, changing dateline)

Moga (Punjab), April 13 (IANS) A powerful blast in an illegal fire-cracker making unit in a residential area of this Punjab town Friday left four people dead and three others injured, police said.

When the blast took place, the victims were making fire-crackers in the illegal factory inside a house in Preet Nagar area of Moga town, 170 km from here.

Police officials said the intensity of the blast was so much that the entire house collapsed and the victims were trapped under the debris. The house was in a densely populated area of the town.

Moga district police chief Sneh Deep Sharma confirmed that four people were killed in the blast.

Deputy Commissioner Arshdeep Singh Thind said that a magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the blast.

Residents of the area told the police that they had asked the owner of the illegal cracker unit to shift it to some other place owing to safety concerns but he did not heed their request.