With the recovery of nine more bodies, the death toll in Wednesday night's explosion at a suspected illegal firecracker factory in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, has risen to 27.
Ten people, allegedly involved in illegal manufacturing of firecrackers, were arrested after the explosion at Deeg area that resulted in the collapse of six houses.
"The death toll in the fire crackers explosion has reached 27 after more bodies were recovered from the debris," District Superintendent of Police Rohit Mahajan said.
The deceased included 12 children and six women, he said, adding that 16 others injured were in hospital. Meanwhile, a forensic team from Jaipur has reached the site to investigate the cause of the blast, Mahajan said.
A case has also been registered against the 10 persons under the Explosives Act, he added.
Mahajan said it had come to light that firecrackers were being manufactured illegally in the locality for quite some time. An investigation is on, he said.
Expressing condolence, Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje ordered a probe and constituted a one-man committee headed by Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Rajendra Bhanawat.
She also announced compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to families of the victims, Rs 25,000 each to seriously injured persons and Rs 5,000 each to injured persons.
The compensation will be released after the approval of the Election Commission, official sources said.
Meanwhile, the state Congress committee has also constituted a panel to investigate the cause of the explosion. Members of the committee will visit Deeg on Thursday and submit a report to Pradesh Congress Committee chief C P Joshi, party sources said.
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