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Explosion at firecracker factory in India kills at least 8

An Indian shopkeeper sells fire crackers ahead of Indian Diwalli festival in New Delhi, India, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. India's Supreme Court has banned the sale of fireworks in New Delhi and nearby towns, 10 days before the Hindu festival of Diwali, in a move to curb the capital's deadly air pollution. The ban is effective immediately and lasts until Nov. 1. (Tsering Topgyal / AP)
Associated Press

NEW DELHI – An explosion at an unlicensed firecracker factory killed at least eight workers and injured 20 others in eastern India on Wednesday, a day ahead of Hindu’s most popular Diwali festival.

A police officer said the number of casualties was likely to go up because several people were feared trapped under the collapsed building in a town in Balasore district in Orissa state. The area is nearly 130 miles south of Bhubaneshwar, the state capital.

Balasore district administrator Pramod Kumar Das said a huge explosion took place as firecrackers were being made in a house used as a factory without a legal license, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the blast. Accidental explosions are common at Indian firework factories as owners often ignore safety standards.

Setting off firecrackers is part of celebrations during festivals and weddings in India.

In June, another explosion at a fireworks factory killed 23 workers and injured seven others in a village in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The explosion triggered a blaze that engulfed the factory before firefighters put it out.