Bengaluru, Oct 8 (IANS): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has expressed his condolences for the tragedy at the firecracker shop- cum-godown which claimed 14 lives in Attibele on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
"I am deeply saddened by the incident of firecracker-cum-godown in Attibele which claimed 14 lives. I will visit the place of tragedy on Sunday and conduct an inspection. My condolences to the family of the deceased," Siddaramaiah said on Saturday.
The statement by Chief Minister's Office said: "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had received information about the incident from government officers. He will directly come to the spot where the tragedy had occurred from Mysuru. After collecting complete information and verifications, he will take the future course of action regarding the incident."
The death toll in the firecracker shop-cum-godown is likely to rise, according to police sources.
In a major tragic incident, at least 14 persons were burnt alive and four others injured in the fire tragedy that was reported from Attibele on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Saturday.
Seven persons have miraculously escaped from the cracker shop before the fire engulfed it.
The fire personnel and emergency services rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire.
Naveen, Rajesh and Venkatesh are undergoing treatment at the Saint John's hospital while Sanjay, Chandru, Rajesh and Paul Kabir were admitted to the Oxford hospital.
Ravikanthe Gowda, IGP (Central Range), said that the tragedy had taken place when the firecrackers were loaded from a truck at about 3.30 p.m.
Of the 14 dead, nine have been identified while among the injured, condition of Venkatesh is critical.
Prima facie it is evident that the incident had taken place due to the negligence of the owner of the Balaji Crackers.
The case has been registered at the Attibele police station and one person has been taken into custody, IGP Gowda added.
The license of the cracker shop is owned by Ramaswamy Reddy and his son Naveen, who is undergoing treatment at a hospital, have been taken into custody and a manhunt is launched for others. The action will be taken against those who had sent the crackers after verifications. It is ascertained that the crackers are brought from Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu, he said.
A case has been registered by the injured persons and a special team is being formed to probe the matter. The culpable homicide angle was also taken up in the case. The action will also be taken against the government departments for negligence, he added.
Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner, Dayananda K.A., said that the license was taken to run the godown and it was renewed in 2018.
The incident had taken place probably due to heavy storage of crackers. The information is taken about those persons who had failed in their duties. Krishnagiri District Commissioner from Tamil Nadu is getting details of the incident. He is also set to visit the spot, he added.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar rushed to the spot late Saturday night after the tragedy came to light and announced Rs five lakh compensation for the families of the 13 persons who were killed in the tragedy.
"It is suspected that few more persons are trapped. According to preliminary information, most of the labourers who were trapped and killed belong from Tamil Nadu. Their identities are yet to be ascertained."