Puri: The toll in firecrackers explosion during Chandan Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath in Odisha’s Puri touched eight on Saturday.
Three persons had initially died while 30 were injured in the explosion in a firecracker stockpile during the religious event on Wednesday. The toll swelled to seven on Friday as four more injured succumbed to the burns while the Heath Department informed about death of one more person in the incident this afternoon.
“The Collector, Puri, has already taken steps for payment of ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased persons. Presently, 22 patients are under treatment in different hospitals,” the latest update said.One among the victims was a two-year-old boy.
The injured were initially admitted to Puri district headquarters hospital, but later shifted to the SCB Medical College in Cuttack and hospitals in Bhubaneswar for specialised treatment as their condition worsened.
Doctors attending to the injured, including several minors, said some of them have sustained over 90% burns.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a high-level inquiry led by special relief commissioner (SRC) Satyabrata Sahu into the incident which occurred during fireworks display near Narendra tank when hundreds of devotees had gathered to witness the Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings.