40 injured in firecracker mishap in Odisha’s Kendrapara

At least 40 people sustained burn injuries when firecrackers exploded at Balia Bazar in Odisha's Kendrapara during the immersion ceremony of God Kartikeswar on Wednesday, police said.

There was a firecracker bursting competition among different puja pandals at the immersion venue at Balia Bazar, about 80 km from here, the police said.

A spark from a firework fell on a heap of stored firecrackers which exploded injuring the people, they said.

Many patients are admitted in the district headquarters hospital while the critical patients have been shifted to SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, the police said ''We have shifted the critically injured persons to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack,'' the police said.

S C B Medical College has made special arrangement for the treatment of the burn patients, an official said.