Two injured in cracker blast

Puri: At least two persons were critically injured in an explosion of crackers at Gopinathpur in Puri district on Wednesday.

The injured identified as Gopabandhu and Ramesh were admitted to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital. The explosion took place when the two youths were making crackers in the evening following which the house caught fire.

Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the two in critical condition after dousing the flames. Meanwhile, police have begun investigation into the incident.

“The asbestos roof under which the crackers were being prepared has been severely gutted in the explosion. We suspect that the duo was engaged in illegal cracker manufacturing,” said ASI, Sadar police station Prafulla Kumar Sahu.