Puri Chandan Yatra Explosion Death Toll Increases to 15

Bhubaneswar: One more person injured in the Chandan Yatra fireworks explosion in Puri succumbed to his burns on Wednesday taking the death toll in the tragedy to 15.

The Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Odisha on Wednesday informed about the rise in the death toll in the incident.

As per the release of the SRC, the Puri district collector has taken steps for payment of Rs.4 lakh each towards ex-gratia assistance to the next of kin of deceased persons.

Now a dozen injured persons are undergoing treatment in different hospitals.

This fatal explosion occurred on May 29 during the fireworks display during Chandan Yatra festivities at Narendra Pushkarani of Puri. Around 30 persons including children sustained serious burn injuries in this fatal accident.

Former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a high-level administrative probe into the incident by Additional Chief Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management and Special Relief Commissioner Satyabrata Sahu.