Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 2 (IANS): Five children were critically injured in a firecracker blast during a wedding procession at a village in Muzaffarnagar.

The incident happened on Sunday night.

The injured have been identified as Savan,7, Ummed, 8, Rihan, 9, Ankit,10, and Amir,10.

The incident took place during the departure of a 'baraat' in the Palda village under the Shahpur police station.

Circle Officer Virja Shankar Tripathi said a bag containing firecrackers had caught fire which led to the incident.

The children were standing nearby, watching the marriage procession.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the Meerut police seized illegal firecrackers and explosives from a house in Meerut on Sunday.

According to Circle Officer (CO) Udai Pratap, raids were conducted on a tip-off.

"We had information that firecrackers were being made in three-four houses where we conducted raids in which we recovered explosives used to make firecrackers and other things from one house," the police official said.

He further said, "One person named Arif had a license to manufacture firecrackers. When the license could not be renewed, he started making the same at his cousin Rizwan's house. We will take action against all those who are found involved."