0

New Delhi: An accidental explosion ripped through an illegal fireworks factory in Rajasthan, killing at least 28 people, including 10 children, just days before Diwali.

Police also said that at least 20 others were hurt after the explosion on Wednesday in Deeg, 30 kilometres from Bharatpur.

"We now have a death toll of 20 people, but it could rise as many are seriously injured," Police Inspector General (Rajasthan) R Narsimha Rao said.

The injured have been admitted to Deeg hospital, he said, adding rescue operations are on.

The blast comes days before Diwali. Months before the festival, illegal fireworks factories spring up across the country and almost all of these employ children, a child rights' group said.

Poor children clandestinely work at these makeshift factories, which are often in people's homes, and almost every year there are fatal accidents.

Police said an accidental fire caused the Wednesday blast inside the illegal factory. "The impact of the blast was huge and it brought down at least five houses in the area," Rao said.

Rescue officials were trying to remove debris from the area to check if there were more survivors.

"There could be more people trapped inside," Rao said, adding that a probe was underway to see how the illegal factory had sprung up in the area.

Swapan Mukherjee of Free the Children India said the factories often hired children as "children come cheap (as labours).”

"We have come across cases where they are just given a meal a day for 18-20 hours of work, others are paid one fifth of a dollar,” he added.

There are at least 1,500 such illegal factories around each of India's major cities, Mukherjee said.

Last year, four children died and dozens were hurt in a similar blast in West Bengal.

At least 10 people have been arrested. A Divisional Commissioner will be conducting an inquiry into the incident.

(With inputs from Reuters)

More on: fireworks factory, child labour, Rajasthan, Diwali, crackers