At leasts 23 people have been killed and 48 others injured in a blaze at a firecracker factory in western India, officials say.

The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Yogesh Pawar, a medical officer, as saying that the injured were being treated at a hospital near Jalgaon, a town in western Maharashtra state.

The region is nearly 2,000km west of New Delhi.

Police were investigating the cause of the fire.

Officials could not be immediately reached for comment about the inferno.

Several big cities and small towns of India have illegal factories making firecrackers, which are used during festivals, weddings and religious ceremonies.

Some illegal workshops operate in homes.

Recommend this article...

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: