At least 11 people have been killed in a massive explosion at a fireworks factory in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Eight of the dead were children. Several others were injured in the explosion on Monday, local police said.

According to local media reports, the powerful explosion took place in Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh. The intensity of the explosion caused the collapse of several houses around the factory. Most of the victims in the explosion were residents of these houses.

The Hindustan Times, an Indian daily, said that at least eight children were killed in the explosion. The children who died were between the ages of four and 13.

Uttar Pradesh police official Satyanarayan Prajapat confirmed the deaths and said that several others were seriously injured in the explosion.

However, the exact cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Such accidents often occur in industrial plants in India due to violations of safety rules and weak monitoring systems.

Earlier this year, at least 17 people were killed in a fire at a fireworks factory in western India in March.

The following month, another fire at a fireworks warehouse in the south of the country killed eight more people.

Source: AFP