Banda: Four people were killed and one person was injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory here, police said on Friday. The incident took place on Thursday evening. The factory was being run out of the residence of a Nafis Khan in Bisanda area. The explosion caused his two-storey house to collapse, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Lal Bharat Kumar Pal said.

The deceased were identified as Shahrukh (19), Salman (16), Nafis (35) and Ramvhadra (15). All four were killed on the spot, he said. The inured was rushed to the hospital, where his condition was stated to be critical, the ASP said. He said a probe is underway to ascertain whether the factory had a license.