Andhra Pradesh firecracker unit blast: Gone in a flash fire
For Thumpala Lova, 38, recalls her son Narendra, the morning of February 28 was like any other. He awoke before dawn to devotional songs coming from the 9th-century Kumara Bhimeswaraswamy temple on the outskirts of Vetlapalem village in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district. Trains rumbled along the tracks behind their house.
Within an hour, Lova had prepared lunch for herself and 20-year-old construction worker Narendra. Wearing her favorite pink sari, she got to work.
Driving a two-wheeler, Narendra dropped it near the irrigation canal branching off from the Godavari river at 8 am. Lova waded through shallow waters to reach Sri Surya Fireworks, where he earned ₹450 a day. The construction site where Narendra was working was barely 100 meters away from the fireworks unit. The salary he received contributed to the family’s survival.
That afternoon, just after lunch, around 2:10 am, Narendra heard an explosion. Then two more in rapid succession. A deafening roar rose from the direction of the Sri Surya Fireworks. Within seconds, the complex turned into a pile of rubble.
The force of the explosions threw bodies across the field. Some went down to the irrigation canal; others were thrown into the surrounding paddy fields. 20 of the 31 workers on the field died at the scene. 8 injured workers died in the hospital. The three survivors are on ventilators at the Government Hospital in Kakinada.
A few hours after the blast, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited the area and met the grieving families at the community health center in Samarlakota. He announced ₹ 20 lakh ex gratia for the family of each deceased worker, along with housing, educational support and living allowance. He said the defendants would face charges that could lead to life imprisonment and their property could be auctioned to compensate the victims. Home Secretary V. Anitha and District Collector S. Shan Mohan handed over the checks to the families.
Survivors sought
Hearing the explosion, Narendra rushed to the scene. Dense black smoke surrounded the area. Guided by cries for help, villagers rushed to the scene before emergency crews arrived.
“There were ashes and broken shacks. The fire was raging. There was also a suffocating smell of sulfur and burning flesh,” recalls Narendra. Then her voice breaks and she adds: “I saw a half-burnt body wearing a rose-coloured sari. I knew it was my mother.”
He handed over his mother’s body to disaster response personnel. There was no time to process the tragedy or pain; He joined the village youth in searching for survivors. “No one from the main unit survived,” he says.
Police then deployed drones to comb fields and canal banks for scattered remains. Two days later, forensic teams said they found the head of a female worker in a paddy field. The dead and injured belonged to the villages of Vetlapalem, G. Medapadu and Samarlakota within a 5-kilometer radius of the unit.
According to initial investigations, it was determined that the fire broke out in the explosive mixing unit. “A spark or friction during mixing probably triggered the fire,” a senior police official said. Inspector General of Police (Eluru Range) GVG Ashok Kumar confirmed that the fire started in the mixing section and then quickly spread to other sheds where large quantities of finished products and raw materials were stored.
Regional Fire Officer (Krishna-Godavari District) E. Swamy says that materials like potassium nitrate, barium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, aluminum powder, starch and metal salts were used that day. Some of these chemicals can be dangerous if not mixed in proper proportions or used improperly.
Female workers often work in packaging and post-production tasks. The force of the explosion spared no one. Many of the injured survivors cannot talk about the incident, they are still traumatized and fighting for their lives.
The Vetlapalem explosion is not an isolated incident. According to the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Response and Fire Department, 69 people have died in explosions at 12 fireworks units in the old districts of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna since 2014. On October 20, 2014, 18 workers were burnt alive in Pithapuram after misuse of sulfur, charcoal and nitrates caused an explosion.
In 2025 alone, Anakapalli, Kakinada and Dr. 46 people lost their lives in three such explosions in BR Ambedkar Konaseema districts.
Following the explosion in the Konaseema district last October, the government constituted a two-member investigation committee. The cracker unit in Kakinada reportedly did not comply with most of the rules laid down.
This time too, a two-member committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) S. Suresh Kumar and Ake Ravikrishna of the Law Enforcement Elite Anti-Narcotics Group to investigate the incident. The forensic report is awaited.
Shattered dreams
For 22-year-old Devi, the loss of her mother Lova came as a shock. “My mother wanted me to complete my graduation. She was dreaming of my marriage this year,” he says. “Now that dream is gone.”
In another lane of Vetlapalem, sisters Usha Rani and Chandra Kala mourn the death of their 48-year-old mother Nookalla Devi. Devi, who was widowed two years ago, had joined Sri Surya in 2023 to support her family.
Chandra Kala, who lost her mother in this tragedy, is being consoled by the residents of Vetlapalem village. | Photo Credit: T. Appala Naidu
Years ago, Devi had survived a head injury sustained in a rice mill and required 20 stitches to her scalp. These scars helped the family identify his burned body.
“He called me three times a day,” says Rani. “He called after lunch on Saturday and asked if I had eaten. He said he would talk to my children in the evening.”
The asbestos roofs of more than 100 houses were damaged in Gudaparthi area, about 100 meters away. Many residents say they initially thought it was an earthquake.
“Around 1.45 pm, my brother received a call from the owner asking him to return early from lunch,” says G. Saibaba, brother of 26-year-old Godatha Naani, who died in the blast. “A few minutes later we heard the explosion.”
Naani’s cousin Mahesh (41) and aunt Mandapalli Chinni (44) also died. They were among eight Dalits from the Madiga community who lost their lives.
Both Gampala Nagaraju, 47, and his wife Pebodda Managa, 44, died in G. Medapadu. “When I called after hearing the explosion, my father’s phone rang three times,” says their son Venkata Ramana. “He stopped playing on the fourth ring. That’s when I knew.”
against the norm
Spread over an area of half an acre, Sri Surya Fireworks was founded in 2023 by the Adabala family. It was the largest among the six units in Vetlapalem. One of his family members, 55-year-old Adabala Srinivasa Rao, died in the explosion. His sons Arjun, 29, and Verababu, 31, survived and were arrested on March 2.
Authorities claim the unit is only licensed to use 15 kilograms of explosives per day and employ a maximum of eight workers. Instead, it employed 31 workers. “Around 200 kg of raw and finished materials were stored at the site,” says Peddapuram Fire Station Officer M. Srihari Jagannath. “The rush was due to orders worth ₹ 6 lakh from a local temple festival as well as additional wedding contracts.”
Peddapuram fire station officer M. Srihari Jagannath said the unit was inspected on January 13, 2025 and production was directed not to continue without permission. “The entire operation (supply, storage and employment) was illegal,” he says.
Operational guidelines mandate a 45-meter separation between production hangars and storage areas. Labor and Factories Minister Vasamsetty Subhash said this norm was also violated. Hindu.
Subhash admitted serious violations. There are 488 licensed fireworks units in Andhra Pradesh and many of them are demanding relaxation of safety norms. He said that the government flatly rejected these demands.
The previous committee had outlined a two-pronged strategy that included broad policy reforms and detailed operational standard operating procedures (SOPs). Central to its recommendations was the creation of a single digital platform – Andhra Pradesh Fireworks Licensing and Monitoring System – to integrate licensing, inspections and compliance monitoring across all relevant departments.
The committee made it mandatory for joint inspections by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO), Fire Services, Labor Department and district administration and inspection reports to be uploaded within 48 hours.
It also proposed the introduction of a unified Fireworks Operating License as well as risk-based classification of units and the development of a Fireworks Risk Index to identify and prioritize high-risk facilities. Zoning reforms have been proposed to implement a mandatory 500-foot buffer between fireworks units and residential areas. Units that could not meet these norms would be mapped and shifted to suitable locations.
To strengthen district-level supervision, the committee recommended formation of a District Fireworks Safety Committee under the chairmanship of the district collector. The committee was required to conduct quarterly inspections, maintain a district-level risk register and exercise powers under Rule 118 of the Explosives Rules 2008 to suspend licenses in the event of repeated breaches, including breaches of electrical safety standards.
From an operational perspective, the SOPs mandated strict separation of processes such as mixing, filling, drying and storage in separate warehouses. They ordered that labor limits be observed in each shed, that spark-free tools be used, that flame-resistant electrical wiring be installed, and that finished products be immediately transferred to designated warehouses. Employment would be restricted to certified workers over the age of 18, with mandatory training, use of personal protective equipment, and the appointment of a PESO-approved competent foreman.
It was also stated that units should install automatic heat and smoke detection systems as well as CCTV surveillance systems. It also required that adequate water tanks, fire extinguishers, lightning rods be available and trial drills be conducted every two years.
The compliance framework also included digital stock records, QR-coded license display boards, geo-tagged audits, mandatory insurance coverage, third-party safety audits, environmental permits and sustainable community awareness initiatives to ensure transparency and accountability.
living on the border
Vetlapalem was once overgrown with sago factories. In 2004-05 there were about 60; fewer than half a dozen remain in operation today. According to residents, rising costs and environmental compliance requirements make up for the rest. With few alternatives, workers turned to fireworks production.
Godatha Syamala, who lost her husband Mahesh, now faces an uncertain future. “My husband was our sole breadwinner. I stayed home to raise our children. Where will I find work now? Sago factories are closed. Will I go back to the fireworks unit?” he asks. Their children are in 10th and 8th grades.
Mandapalli Chinni’s daughter Suvarna Sweety got married in January. “My mother had survived three accidents in fireworks units before,” he says. “On Saturday, the widow even came home in the morning to collect her pension,” he says. In fact, it was retirement day that saved at least 20 women who didn’t show up for work that afternoon.
Sweety says her mother then returned to the unit. “It was as if death was waiting.”
