At least five persons, including three children, were burnt to death after a fire broke out at a firecracker shop in Jharkhand's Garhwa on Monday, a police officer said.
The incident occurred at Godarmana Bazar in Ranka police station area.
"Five persons were killed after a blaze erupted at a firecracker shop here. Of these, three are children. We are investigating the incident," Garhwa SP Deepak Pandey told PTI.
Ranka SDPO Rohit Ranjan Singh said the fire broke out around 12.30 pm, while crackers were being sold on a wooden platform in the shop.
"We took the injured to a nearby hospital in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, where doctors declared them dead," Singh said.
The cause of the blaze has not yet been ascertained, he added.
Meanwhile, Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident.
"Received the sad news about the death of five people due to a fire that broke out at a firecracker shop in Ranka block of Garhwa. May 'Marang Buru' (supreme tribal deity) grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this loss," Soren posted on X.
He said the case is being investigated by the district administration.
"The incident of fire at a firecracker shop in Godarmana under Ranka police station area of Garhwa district and the deaths are heart-wrenching. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," Gangwar said in another post on X.