Indian fireworks blaze kills 23

Twenty-three people were killed and nearly 50 others were injured in a blaze at a fireworks factory in western India, the emergency services said Friday.

Police said the fire broke out on Friday afternoon at the Savitri Fireworks Factory in Parola, west of the town of Jalgaon, in Maharashtra state, some 465 kilometres (290 miles) northeast of Mumbai.

Medical officer Yogesh Pawar, from Parola hospital, told the Press Trust of India news agency that 23 people had died and 48 others were being treated for their injuries.

No immediate cause was given for the fire.Fires at such factories are not uncommon, with safety standards either lax or non-existent.

Human rights groups have also highlighted the use of child labour to make fireworks and safety matches in India.

An explosion at an illegal fireworks factory in northern India in October last year killed at least 23 people, 10 of them children.

A month earlier, five children and three adults died after a house exploded where firecrackers were being made for the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali.

(AFP)