SHEIKHUPURA, Sept 10: Five people, including two women, were killed and three received critical burn wounds when firework material exploded in a Sharqpur village on Saturday.

A group of people, including some women, ran firework business in Muzammal Shah Havely in Nae Bheni village. They were busy in their work when the firework material caught fire and exploded with a bang.

As a result, Imran, Rani Bibi, Bushra Bibi, Azam and Bilal died on the spot and Zahid, Sarfaraz and Munir suffered critical burn wounds. They were shifted to Mayo Hospital, Lahore, in precarious condition.

The explosion was so severe that adjoining buildings developed cracks.

Sheikhupura DPO Syed Ibne Husain said the Punjab government had already announced a ban on manufacturing fire-crackers under Section 144.

The DPO said he had visited the place of the incident and issued a show-cause notice to the Sharqpur SHO for negligence.