Diwali celebrations across India were marred by a series of fatal fires, firecracker accidents and road crashes, leaving several people dead and many others injured. Incidents were reported in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha.
In Madhya Pradesh, at least 13 people were reported killed in separate residential fires in Seoni, Ujjain and Katni. In Seoni, 12 people, including six members of the same family, died after a massive fire broke out in a residential house. In Ujjain, an elderly person was killed in another house fire.
In Barhi town of Katni district, six members of a family, including three children and a two-month-old infant, died after a fire engulfed a three-storey residential-cum-commercial building on Diwali night.
The incident raised questions about the local fire brigade’s response. Four fire tenders were deployed, but the blaze continued for several hours. Katni Collector Ashish Tiwari apologised to the victims’ family and residents, acknowledging that the administration had been unable to save the six people.
“Despite four fire brigade vehicles being at the spot, the six lives could not be saved. I apologise for it,” Tiwari said.
In Maharashtra, six members of a family died of suffocation after a fire broke out in a house built above a grocery shop in Dharashiv. In Mumbai’s Lokhandwala area, one person was also reported dead.
Separately, a 16-year-old boy, identified as Shanwaz Niyaz Khan, died after a fire broke out at a firecracker storage shop in Malvani, Malad West. He was found dead inside after the shop’s slab collapsed following an explosion.
In Delhi’s Narela area, a 10-year-old boy named Rishi died after a skyrocket struck his chest while he was bursting firecrackers outside his home. His family alleged medical negligence at the hospital where he was taken for treatment. The Delhi Fire Service received hundreds of emergency calls during the celebrations.
Uttar Pradesh also witnessed a series of fatal road accidents. In Muzaffarnagar, six young men from Haryana were burnt alive after their car overturned following a collision with a road divider and an electricity pole. The crash took place near Jagahedi village early on November 9 as the group was travelling towards Haridwar.
Across the state, at least 17 people were killed and 55 injured in six major road accidents on November 9, according to officials. The other incidents included a tractor-trolley overturning in Chitrakoot and a bus crash on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway.
In Rajasthan’s Falna town, a fire at a firecracker shop killed two people, while three others were reported missing.
In Odisha’s Cuttack, a seven-year-old child died after a fire broke out at a house in the Dargah Bazaar area.
The incidents came amid reports of firecracker-related injuries and fires in several other cities. In Hyderabad, at least 32 people, mostly children, were taken to Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital with eye injuries. Mumbai and the wider metropolitan region also reported dozens of burn injuries and multiple fire incidents.
