india

Updated: Sep 05, 2019 11:59 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed grief over the demise of 23 people in a blast that occurred at a firecracker factory in Punjab’s Batala city.

Calling the incident “heart-wrenching”, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tweeted, “The tragedy at a firecracker factory in Punjab is heart-wrenching. Deeply anguished due to it. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I hope the injured recover at the earliest. Agencies are working on rescue operations at the site of the tragedy.”

At least, 23 people have lost their lives while 27 others have suffered injuries in the fire that occurred at a crackers factory in Gurdaspur’s Batala city on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, SSP Batala, Opinderjit Singh Ghuman said, “Our forensic team is reaching the site.”

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry in the accident and announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the seven severely injured, who were referred to Amritsar Medical College. He has announced Rs 25,000 for those with minor injuries.

On Wednesday, President Ram Nath Kovind too had condoled the death of workers in the explosion.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.)