11 killed in Telangana firecracker unit blaze
Hyderabad, July 4: Eleven people were killed when a fire broke out in a firecracker manufacturing unit-cum-warehouse in Telangana's Warangal Rural district on Wednesday, police said.
Five others were injured in the incident that occurred in the Bhadrakali firecracker unit in Koti Lingala, near Warangal town.
Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari told reporters at the site that four fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames that broke out around noon.
The impact of the series of blasts was such that the entire unit was razed to the ground and nearby houses were also damaged. The bodies were charred beyond recognition.
The blasts triggered panic among residents, who ran for safety. Senior officials of the district administration rushed to the spot and launched rescue and relief operations.
Warangal Rural District Collector M. Haritha said they were trying to find as to how many workers were present in the unit at the time of the blaze.
People in the area said 25 to 30 people were employed in the unit and at the time of the fire and at least 15 to 20 were inside at the time of the fire. Majority of the workers were said to be women.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.
Haritha, who is supervising the rescue and relief operations, said the Revenue Department officials would conduct a probe.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao expressed shock over the loss of lives. He announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia each for the families of the deceased.
He said the government would bear the expenses for the treatment of the injured.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
