A firecracker manufacturing unit exploded with tremendous force on Ramol-Gatrad Road in Ahmedabad's Vastral area on Saturday, July 18, killing eight people and injuring 15 others. The blast was so powerful that it was heard nearly 5 kilometres away, and several workers caught in the explosion were torn apart by its force. Initial information indicates that the factory was operating without any government permission, meaning it was functioning entirely illegally.
The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. Four of them are being treated at LG Hospital, while three others are undergoing treatment at Asarva Civil Hospital. As soon as news of the accident broke, the administration swung into action and launched rescue and relief operations on a war footing, with teams working to pull survivors out from under the debris and get them to hospital quickly.
RAF personnel played a key role in the rescue
The factory is located right behind an RAF, that is Rapid Action Force, camp in Vastral. The moment personnel stationed at the camp heard the loud blast, they rushed to the spot without any delay. Even before fire brigade vehicles could arrive, RAF personnel had already begun pulling out people trapped and injured under the debris, saving several lives in the process. Visuals from the site showed rescue teams carefully carrying survivors out past the mangled remains of the collapsed structure. Shortly after, more than five fire brigade vehicles reached the scene and brought the fire under control. The cooling process at the site is still underway to prevent the fire from flaring up again.
PM Modi expresses grief, announces compensation
As soon as the news reached him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep grief over the incident. He wrote on X, "My thoughts are with the grieving families in this hour of sorrow." He added that the local administration was providing every possible help to the affected families and prayed for the injured to recover quickly. He also announced that ex gratia assistance of 2 lakh rupees would be given to the family of each person who died, and 50,000 rupees to each of the injured, from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.
Mayor and senior police officials reach the spot
Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot personally reached the accident site after the blast. He was accompanied by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's fire brigade team and several senior officials. From the police side, Zone-8 DCP Mayur Patil and Sector-2 JCP Jaipal Singh Rathod also camped at the spot. The presence of these officials helped speed up the relief and rescue operations and brought the situation under control faster.
A similar blast had struck Kheda just three weeks earlier
This is not the first time a firecracker factory accident has been reported in Gujarat. Earlier, on June 27, a similarly illegal firecracker factory in the Kapadvanj area of Kheda district was rocked by a powerful blast. That explosion took place inside a building located opposite a dumping station and was so intense that tremors resembling an earthquake were felt within a 10 kilometre radius. The building collapsed into a heap of rubble within moments of the blast. Although no one died in that incident, some of the injured were said to be in a serious condition. Local residents rushed to the spot, pulled the injured out of the debris themselves and got them to the nearest hospital in time to save their lives.
Accidents linked to illegal firecracker factories have surfaced repeatedly in Gujarat over the past few weeks, once again highlighting the urgent need for stricter enforcement of safety regulations at such units, which often continue to operate close to residential neighbourhoods without proper safety clearances, putting both workers and nearby residents at risk.
