4 injured in firecracker explosion in Odisha's Rayagada

Rayagada, Jan 14 (PTI) Four people suffered burn injuries in a firecracker explosion in Odisha's Rayagada district in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

The incident took place around 2 am in Rayaga town's Yedusahi, a settlement of Telugu-speaking people who were celebrating 'Bhogi Podi' ahead of Makar Sankranti, they said.

As part of the celebrations, a fire was lit around which people stood and offered prayer.

The accident occurred when someone allegedly dumped a large number of crackers on fire, leading to an explosion.

Glass panels and windows of several houses were shattered due to the high intensity of the explosion.

Four people were injured in the incident and rushed to the district headquarters hospital. Two of them were critical and later shifted to a hospital in nearby Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. PTI AAM AAM SOM