5 Dead, 23 Injured in Madhya Pradesh Firecracker Blast

At least five workers died and 23 others were injured after an explosion triggered a fire at a firecracker manufacturing unit in the Tonk Kalan area of Dewas district, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday, May 14, 2026. The blast occurred around 11 a.m. local time inside a room containing gunpowder, where approximately 28 workers were present, officials said.

Dewas Additional District Magistrate Sanjeev Jain confirmed that two workers who had been critically injured succumbed to their wounds at a private hospital in Dewas, raising the death toll to five. Of the injured, 12 were admitted to the district hospital, six to another facility in Dewas, and four were referred to hospitals in Indore, including Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital and Choithram Hospital. Officials reported that the seriously injured patients were stable, with some suffering burns covering 80 to 90 percent of their bodies.

Police arrested the factory owner, Anil Malviya, and invoked the National Security Act against him for alleged misuse of the firecracker license and safety violations. A first information report was filed against Malviya and three other managers under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and...