Special Correspondent

NewsBits.in

 

BHOPAL: Though festivities reigned the occasion of Diwali in the country, over 25 lives were lost and hundreds were left injured in various incidents across states on the night.

Thirteen persons including two families of six each were killed in fire accidents in Madhya Pradesh while another family of six was killed in fire in Maharashtra all on night of Diwali or following wee hours.

A 10-year-old kid in Delhi and a minor and an adult man in Tamil Nadu were killed after being hit by crackers, news reports from across country said.

Madhya Pradesh: A huge fire that engulfed a three-storey residence in Barhi town of Katni killed six members of Agrawal family. Primary findings indicated earthen lamps lit on the ground floor shop stocking plastic items among other things. The victims were identified as 77-year-old Puran Agrawal, his wife Chandrakala, 74, daughter-in-law Poonam, 35, minor granddaughters aged 14 and six and a two-month-infant.

In Chhapara town of Seoni district, six members of Soni family perished when their three-storey house caught fire during the wee hours following Diwali. Four members were rescued, but Kundanlal Soni, 75, his wife Rajkumari, 65, son Surya, 45, daughters-in-law Ritu, 42 and Smriti, 40 and grandson Aditya succumbed.

In another house fire in Ujjain, a 100 plus man died of suffocation when fire erupted in a shops-cum residential structure in Nagjhiri area. Ten persons were rescued from the building, minimizing the impact of the fire.

Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav expressed condolences on social media platform X and also talked to the affected families. He announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of each of the 12 victims killed in the Katni and Seoni fires.

Meanwhile in Maharashtra too, six members of the same family died in Dharashiv district, when their grocery shop cum residential house caught fire in Yedshi village. The cause of fire is said to be either earthen oil lamps lit for Diwali or fire crackers.

The deceased have been identified as Uttam Karande (75), his wife Chandrakala (72), their son Govind (45), daughter-in-law Jyoti (40), and granddaughters Gayatri (16) and Siddhi (15). Their 18-year-old family member, Krishna Karande, survived.

A couple was killed in Falna of Pali district in Rajasthan as massive fire broke out in a fire cracker shop. Three other shops and several vehicles were also gutted in the blaze, reports said. Fire accidents related to Diwali killed one each in Cuttack of Odisha and Delhi.

Delhi also reported death of a 10-year-old boy who was hit in the chest by a firecracker in Narela area. In Tamil Nadu, two died due to burn injuries. It was reported that over 1100 were treated for burn injuries related to fire crackers in the state, of them about 309 were kids.

(Image is AI Generated Illustration)