Four persons were killed and seven injured on Wednesday morning following an explosion in an illegal firecracker godown at Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, police said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Ayodhya Prasad Singh said, “A house situated in a ward of Arya Samaj temple at the Kaptanganj town of Kushinagar district had an illegal firecracker godown operating from there where making and storing of firecrackers was taking place ahead of the festival of Diwali. It is reported that a cylinder kept inside the godown caught fire leading to the explosion, killing four people while injuring seven others in the accident. All the injured victims are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital”.

The police and the fire brigade personnel reached the spot and doused the flames with the help of local people.

According to local people, the illegal firecracker godown belongs to one Javed, who is a resident of the town’s ward number 11. The explosion inside the godown on Wednesday morning damaged nearby houses too.

There was an uproar in the town following the blast with people gathering in large numbers. Bricks, explosives and other items were found lying scattered all around the site.