Toll in Karnataka firecracker shop blast rises to 14, 2 held, say police
While 12 people had died on the spot during the incident on Saturday, two others succumbed during treatment on Sunday, the officers added.
The death toll in the Karnataka fire incident at a firecracker shop in Attibele on Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border rose to 14, police officers familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

While 12 people had died on the spot during the incident on Saturday, two others succumbed during treatment on Sunday, the officers added.
“While the seven injured people are being treated at two different hospitals in the city,” police said.
Three injured people -- Naveen Reddy who is son of the cracker shop owner Ramaswamy Reddy, Rajesh and Venkatesh, are being treated at St John’s Medical College Hospital.
“They suffered around 17% to 30% burn injuries and internal burn injuries due to inhalation of smoke. The next 72 hours are critical for their recovery,” police officials said.
Four others — Sanjay, Chandru, Rajesh and Paul Kabir — are being treated at Oxford Medical college Hospital in Attibele.
The fire took place at Shree Balaji Traders -- a firecracker shop-cum-godown -- on Saturday when crackers were being unloaded from a vehicle into the godown, police said.
The firecrackers had come from Sivakasi, the fireworks hub of Tamil Nadu, ahead of the festival of Diwali.
Eleven of the deceased have been identified as — Prakash (20), Vettappan (25), Aathikesavan (23), Vijayaraghavan (20), Ilambaruthi (19), Akash (23), Giri (22), Sachin (22), Prabhakaran (17), Vasantharaj (23) and Appas (23), police said.
Police officers in the know of the developments said since the bodies were charred, making it difficult for the authorities to identify them.
The three unidentified bodies have been kept at Oxford Medical College Hospital in Attibele. Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams are expected to carry out DNA tests to match with samples of their relatives, in order to identify them, the officers added.
According to the police, most of the victims were workers at the factory who are from four districts in Tamil Nadu – Dharmapuri, Thirupattur, Kallakurichi and Krishnagiri.
What caused the fire?
The incident occurred between 3pm and 3.30 pm on Saturday, while the workers were unloading firecrackers from a lorry and two mini goods vehicles into the shop, police said.
Around 10 people were unloading boxes containing firecrackers. Eyewitnesses said that they saw a sudden spark at the site, which was followed by a blaze. Several people who were inside the godown were trapped as the fire quickly spread, they added.
Alok Mohan, director general and inspector general of police (DG&IGP), Karnataka state police said a total of 35 people were working at the shop. Nine fire tenders, including several water tankers, were rushed to the spot to douse the fire, which took more than five hours.
While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, fire and emergency personnel suspect that a high-tension overhead electric line may have come in contact with firecracker boxes in the vehicles while unloading, which may have led to the blaze.
KA Dayanand, DC, Bengaluru (Urban), said that they had permitted the shop only to sell and not store firecrackers at the godown.
“The owner has violated the license conditions and stored more than 1,000 kilograms of fire crackers. The licensing authority has not permitted anyone to store crackers,” he said.
Two people arrested
The police on Sunday arrested two people in connection with the fire -- the licensee V Ramaswamy Reddy and the owner of the land where the godown was built at Attibele, Anil Reddy. Ramaswamy Reddy’s son, Naveen Reddy, who has been hospitalised after suffering severe burns, is the third accused in the case and he has been booked.
The Attibele Police have registered a case under sections 337 (causing hurt by endangering the life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous injuries to another person by endangering their life or personal safety), and 304 (punishment for culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code along with section 9 (b) of the Explosives Rules Act.
Forensic Science Laboratory teams camping at the accident site and Fire and Emergency Service personnel who doused the fire on Saturday said the shop was also storing fire crackers illegally. There were large quantities of crackers, beyond permissible limits, stored in the shop without any safety guidelines, which led to the accident.
Meanwhile, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the fire. “There was negligence on the part of the licence holder,” the chief minister said, pointing out that it was a “big tragedy”.
Siddaramaiah said that the licensee was permitted to keep only 1,000 kg of fireworks at a time, and not to store large quantities.
“From what I have seen, no safety measures were followed. No fire extinguishers were kept. It is a very congested area. The godown has also been extended. It needs to be checked if proper permissions were given. The exact reason is yet to be known.”
“The deputy commissioner [DC] told me that he had received a no-objection certificate from the Fire and Emergency services and the police. In my opinion, the DC should have paid a personal visit. Those who gave the report should have checked if proper procedure under the Explosives Act was being followed because the license was issued under it,” Siddaramaiah added.
Tamil Nadu sends team for relief work
Tamil Nadu on Sunday deputed its officials from Krishnagiri district, which is closest to Karnataka, to visit the site.
“Our chief secretary has spoken to Karnataka’s chief secretary,” said chief minister MK Stalin. “We are supporting the relief and rescue work.”
Tamil Nadu’s minister for health M Subramanian and food minister R Sakkarapani met the families of the deceased and those receiving treatment in various hospitals.
The ministers also provided a compensation of ₹3 lakh to each of the families of the victims, ₹1 lakh for those who have suffered grievous injuries and ₹50,000 to those who have suffered minor injuries from the chief minister’s relief fund.
“It is common for workers from all over Tamil Nadu to be taken in temporarily to work in firecracker factories in other states, ahead of Diwali,” minister Subramanian said.
