At least 27 killed in India fireworks factory blast
At least 27 people have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks factory in India
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Thursday, 23, Oct 2008 11:36
At least 27 people have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks factory in India.
Among the dead were 12 children, reports claim, with six houses destroyed in the blast.
The explosion happened at the village of Deeg in Rajasthan on Wednesday night and left around 20 people injured.
It is suggested that a number of residents were working illegally making the fireworks ahead of Tuesday's Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.
Police spokesman Rohit Mahajan is quoted by Sky News as saying: "There was a house in which fireworks were being made illegally.
"An explosion went off in one man's house and it collapsed."
An official inquiry has been launched into the blast.
Human rights groups have claimed that months before the festival, illegal factories spring up in parts of India, many employing children.
Using children in hazardous occupations was banned by the Indian government in 1987.