Gujarat warehouse explosion: ‘A water break saved my life’

On Tuesday morning, Rajesh Nayak stepped outside the firecracker warehouse in India’s Gujarat state where he worked to drink water.

Some moments later, an explosion ripped through the building, killing 21 people, including Mr Nayak’s brother.

“Some of my other relatives have also died. I had come to work here only from Sunday,” a distraught Nayak, who is in hospital with minor injuries, said.

Most of the victims were from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state and had recently come to work at the warehouse, located in an industrial estate in Banaskantha district in Gujarat.

Their families lived in huts close to the building and some of them were also killed from the force of the explosion. Banaskantha District Collector Mihir Patel told BBC Gujarati that the victims included four women and three children.

It’s not clear yet what caused the explosion, but officials are investigating if firecrackers were being manufactured illegally at the warehouse.

“Primary information has been received that the explosion took place when firecrackers were being made here,” said Mr Patel, the collector.

India has strict rules around firecracker production but these are often not enforced strongly on the ground. Accidents are regularly reported, especially at illegal factories.

The incident in Gujarat came a day after eight people were killed in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory hundreds of miles away in West Bengal state.

Police in Gujarat have arrested two men, owners of the warehouse, in connection with the explosion and are searching for one more person. A special investigation team has been set up to look into the incident.

Banaskantha district police chief Akshay Raj Makwana said a preliminary investigation showed that aluminium powder was stored in the building.

“This powder is non-explosive but flammable and easily available in the market. We are investigating the supply chain and how the accused sourced such material,” said Mr Makwana.

Mr Patel told reporters that the building had been registered as a warehouse for storing firecrackers, but its licence had expired in December. When a team went to inspect the area in March, he said, the building was empty.

When BBC Gujarati reached the area on Tuesday, the air smelt strongly of sulphur.

The explosion caused extensive damage, destroying the warehouse and a wall of the adjacent factory. Large concrete slabs were thrown up to 300ft away.

Mr Makwana, the police chief, said a slab in the building collapsed, trapping workers underneath.

The powerful blast also destroyed surrounding huts and killed some family members of the workers.

A sanitation worker told BBC Gujarati that he carried out four bodies on stretchers from the site. “My heart sank when I saw a child’s body,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is from Gujarat, has expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and announced financial assistance.

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