10 killed in UP explosion

Lucknow, Feb 23 (IANS) At least 10 persons were killed and a dozen injured in a blast in an Uttar Pradesh village in Bhadohi on Saturday, police said. The explosion at the house of a fire cracker manufacturer, an officer said, was so huge that the building was razed to the ground and cracks developed in neighbouring houses as glass panes were shattered were shattered all over the place due to the impact. The Varanasi-Bhadohi road was cordoned off and JCB machines have been pressed into service to clear the debris strewn over a large area, the officer added. Ten bodies have been pulled out of the debris, a district official told IANS, adding that an NDRF team was also at the site. The house belonged to one Akhtar Ali. Prima facie the blast appears to have been caused by a fire in a stockpile of fire crackers, the officer added.
--IANS md/in