AN EXPLOSION at an illegal firecracker factory in eastern India killed seven workers and injured nine others in the hours before today’s (19) Diwali festival, officials said.
The explosion late last night (18) completely destroyed the makeshift structure after fire touched off the gunpowder and chemical stocks used to make the fireworks in Balasore district of Odisha state, said district magistrate Pramod Kumar Das.
He said several of the injured workers are in a critical condition after the "huge" explosion.
Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by lighting lamps and with fireworks.
Explosions often occur in the thousands of illegal backyard and underground workshops that spring up during the festive season.
Last month, nine people were killed in neighbouring Jharkhand state after their workshop was gutted by fire.
India's firecracker industry, worth nearly one billion dollars a year, is the second largest in the world after China.
The cover of his book
Manmohan Singh; the then prime minister of India walks in procession through Cambridge University in October 2006 before receiving an honorary Doctor of Law degree
With US president Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and his wife Gursharan Kaur at the White House in November 2009
With Pakistan prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani at the 2011 ICC World Cup semifinal in Mohali, north India
Meeting Queen Elizabeth II during a reception for G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in April 2009 
The scale of the event is immense, comparable to the combined populations of the United States and Canada. (Photo: Getty Images)
A Hindu devotee smeared with ash dances during a religious procession ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on January 10. (Photo: Getty Images)
Pilgrims carrying their belongings walk over floating pontoon bridges to go to Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, in Prayagraj on January 12. (Photo: Getty Images)