Fire breaks out at cracker shop in Bengaluru, 13 dead

Bengaluru: At least 13 persons were charred to death after a fire broke out at a firecracker shop-cum-godown in outskirts of Bengaluru on Saturday, police sources said.

Fourteen persons have escaped miraculously from the shop, located at Attibele in Anekal Taluk, before the fire engulfed it.

Emergency services along with fire tenders rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire.

Condoling the death, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he was shocked to learn that 13 labourers were burnt alive in the Anekal cracker shop tragedy. “Let the god give peace to their souls. The government should take precautionary measures. It should order appropriate action to ascertain the truth behind it. Action must be taken against the accused and compensation must be provided to the deceased’s families.”

According to police, the cracker shop is owned by one Naveen.

The identities of the deceased persons are yet to be ascertained.

Bengaluru Rural SP Mallikarjuna Baladandi said that the fire tragedy had occurred in the Balaji crackers shop when the crackers were being unloaded from the canter. Soon the fire spread to the godown and the stall. “Two persons have sustained injuries and the owner Naveen has also suffered burn injuries. The FSL team will make the assessment and we are checking on the license of the cracker shop,” he said.

The crackers worth crores were gutted in the incident. Three four-wheelers and four bikes were also gutted in the fire.