18 killed in Punjab factory blast; Amarinder Singh expresses grief

Eighteen people were killed in a blast at a firecracker factory in Batala of Gurdaspur district on Wednesday, an official said.

Several people were feared trapped under the debris, police said, adding that the rescue operation was underway.

The blast took place around 4 pm at the factory located in a residential area, Inspector General (Border Range) SPS Parmar told PTI.

Batala Senior Medical Officer Sanjiv Bhalla said, "A total 18 people have died in the blast." Of the 14 seriously injured people, four have been referred to the Amritsar government hospital, Bhalla added.

Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Vipul Ujjwal said over 15 people had died in the blast.

The impact of the blast was such that a few nearby buildings were damaged.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed shock over the loss of life in the incident.

"Deeply anguished to learn the loss of life due to the blast in the firecracker factory in Batala. Rescue operations are underway with the DC and the SSP heading relief efforts," Amarinder tweeted.

Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol too expressed grief over the incident.

"Saddened to hear about the news of blast in Batala factory. NDRF teams and local administration have been rushed for rescue operation," Deol said in his tweet.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed for the rescue operation.

Senior officials of the district administration and police have reached the spot to take stock of the situation.