The explosion at an illegal fire-cracker factory in Munna Lal Kheda village in Kakori on Monday, besides killing three people and injuring three others, left the villagers in a shock.
Village head Mahesh Vishwakarma said the “blast was so powerful that initially I thought that a helicopter or an aeroplane had come crashing down in the village.”
Vishwakarma was lying on his cot outside his house, about a km away from the blast site, when at around 10 am on Monday the entire village was reverberated by the blast.
After the blast the entire village was engulfed by a cloud of black smoke, he added.
“It took us several minutes to make out that the blast was caused at the fire cracker factory in the village. When we rushed to the site, we found the entire house demolished,” said Vishwakarma.
Manoj Kumar, whose house developed cracks in the walls and roof top solar power panels were damaged, was lucky to escape unhurt.
“Just few minutes before the blast, I was standing next to the house in which blast took place. I got a call on my cell phone from my house for a household work and I left the place,” said Kumar.
“After few minutes a powerful blast stunned the village. Simultaneously, a black cloud of smoke engulfed the entire village. It took me several minutes to understand that the blast took place in the fire cracker factory,” said Kumar.
Ramesh Maurya, another villager, was attending to his cattle outside his house when the blast took place. “My buffaloes were tied with the peg. When the blast took place, they were so terrified that they tried to break away from the peg and flee,” said Maurya. It was not easy to calm them down, he added.
Fifteen-year-old Meena was playing with her younger brother, Karan, in the courtyard of her house when the blast took place. The brother-sister duo were so terrified that they started crying. Their parents had a tough time consoling them.
Friends Rajeev and Sahib, both in their late 20s, were roaming in the village at that time. “We have never heard such a powerful blast. It took us several minutes to regain composure after the blast and make out what had actually happened. When we reached the spot, the house was reduced to rubble. There was no one to be rescue as the deceased were blown to pieces,” said Rajeev and Sahib.
As things stand, it will take some time for the residents of the Munna Lal Kheda village to overcome the tragedy.
Prasanta Patnaik