26 die in illegal fireworks blast in India

DEEG, India, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- At least 26 people died in an explosion in an illegal fireworks factory in Deeg, a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, local police said Thursday.

The Wednesday explosion at a house caused it and five adjoining houses to collapse, CNN reported.

By Thursday morning, rescue workers had found 26 bodies, including 12 children and six women, in the rubble, police Superintendent Rohit Mahajan said. The blast wounded 16 others.

"It was a devastating explosion. And most people apparently died after being buried under collapsed houses," Mahajan said.

Ten people were taken for questioning and Mahajan said he expected arrests would be made soon.

Police found materials to make fireworks during a search of nearby houses, CNN said.

"It was an absolutely illegal factory," Mahajan said.