At least 21 people were killed and eight others injured after a powerful explosion ripped through a firecracker factory in Kakinada, in India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday, according to local officials.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the loss of lives” in a post on X and extended condolences to the victims’ families following the deadly blast.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted state minister Kandula Durgesh as confirming that around 30 people were inside the factory when the explosion occurred. “Another eight persons are undergoing treatment in hospitals,” Durgesh said.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu described the incident as “heartbreaking” and said officials were working to establish whether safety regulations had been violated.
Fireworks are widely used in India, especially during the Hindu festival of Diwali and wedding celebrations. However, deadly accidents at firecracker factories and storage facilities are frequent, often linked to poor safety standards and weak enforcement of regulations.
The tragedy echoes a similar incident last year in western India, where a firework factory explosion also claimed 21 lives, underscoring ongoing concerns about industrial safety in the country’s fireworks industry.
