20 dead, 6 injured as cracker unit explodes in Andhra, CM to visit spot

As many as 20 people were killed and six others critically injured in the cracker unit blast here in Kakinada district on Saturday, a top police official said.
“We have information that 20 people were killed in the incident,” Kakinada Superintendent of Police G Bindu Madhav told PTI.
Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha told PTI that six people were critically injured in the cracker unit blast.
Anitha said she was on her way to the blast site.
Tourism Minister K Durgesh said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is expected to visit the site.
“This is the biggest blast in the state. Full details are yet to come. There is no chance that anyone would survive. Some people are undergoing treatment, he told reporters.
The intensity of the explosion at Vetlakpalem village in Samarlakota mandal was so strong that bodies were flung into nearby paddy fields, a police official said.
An investigation into the cause of the fire, which led to the blast, is ongoing, police officials sai