Overview
- Two workers died and at least five others were injured in a powerful explosion at a licensed firecracker unit in Barabanki’s Tikaitnagar area.
- Several injured were shifted to the Lucknow Trauma Centre, where some remain critical, and owner Mohammad Khalid is among those hurt.
- Police sealed the site, deployed fire tenders and called forensic teams, with crews clearing debris and checking for anyone trapped.
- Officials reported the unit held a valid licence—described as running until March next year—while preliminary assessments diverged on compliance, with one citing negligence and the district magistrate noting no violations found so far.
- A separate explosion at a Lucknow firecracker facility a day earlier was preliminarily linked by police to nearby stubble burning, with no casualties and an investigation underway.