Seven people killed in factory blast in north India

At least seven people were killed and four others injured in an explosion at a factory in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, a local district administration official said.

The mishap occurred in the Modi Nagar area of Ghaziabad district of the state.

"Seven persons, including women, have died and four persons were severely injured in a fire incident. According to locals, around 20-25 persons were making party poppers in the factory when the fire broke out," Hindustan Times quoted Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar Jadaun as saying.

"We are trying to find the owner of the factory, and identification process of the dead is underway," he said.

A local villager was quoted as saying, "There were no safety measures in place at the factory and it didn't have a license to operate."