12 killed in explosion in Andhra house (Second Lead)

Hyderabad, Nov 16

Twelve people, including six children, were killed and 20 others were injured as explosives stored in a house went off in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district Monday, police said.

The explosion occurred in Narayanpur of Guntur district, about 300 km from here.

A two-storeyed house in which gelatine sticks were stored was completely destroyed while four adjoining houses were partially damaged in the massive explosion. The houses also caught fire due to the explosion.

Rescue workers removed 12 bodies from the debris. Officials said the death toll might go up as the work to clear debris was still on.

Koteswara Rao, the businessman who had stored the explosives for supplying to mine owners in the region, and his three family members were among those killed in the blast.

Witnesses said the explosion occurred around 9 a.m. and could be heard a kilometre away from the scene. A gas cylinder blast is suspected to have triggered the massive explosion.

Guntur District Collector B. Ramanjaneyulu, who rushed to the scene, ordered a probe into the incident. Officials said they were trying to ascertain if the house owner had a license to store gelatine sticks.

Local residents alleged that the explosives were stored illegally and that the officials had failed to act on their complaints in the past.

Last updated on Nov 16^th, 2009 at 16:03 pm IST--IANS

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