Toll in MP firecracker unit blast reaches 12 after woman's body found; seven still missing

The death toll in blast at a firecracker unit in Harda in Madhya Pradesh reached 12 on Thursday after the body of an unidentified woman was found from a home near the site, while seven persons continue to be missing, officials said.

A massive blast and subsequent blaze on Tuesday levelled a firecracker unit, leaving 11 dead at the time and more than 200 injured.

''The toll in the tragedy has reached 12 after the body of an unidentified woman was found in a house adjoining the blast site,'' Harda Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) HP Singh said.

More than 200 persons were injured, of which 90 were discharged after treatment while 45 have been referred to hospitals in Bhopal, Indore and Naramadpuram, he said.

The rest are being treated in the Harda district hospital, Singh added.

Additional District Magistrate Sadanand Gauda said seven persons have been reported missing by the families following the incident.

Meanwhile, officials said door-to-door search of houses in the area was continuing, with five sacks of firecrackers being found in one of them.

A team is also assessing damage to the houses in the vicinity so that residents can get assistance at the earliest, the officials said.

''Four centres have been set up to extend help to families affected due to this incident,'' an official informed.

The incident has led to a war of words between the BJP government in the state and the opposition Congress, which claimed figures of those dead and injured were higher than those quoted by officials.

MP Congress president Jitu Patwari, who visited the site on Wednesday, had called it a ''government-induced crime'' and had demanded that Chief Minister Mohan Yadav order registration of murder cases against officials allegedly responsible for the incident.

The Congress had walked out of the Assembly on Thursday after expressing dissatisfaction at the CM's statement that his government would not spare the guilty.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)