A blaze in a fireworks factory in central India has killed six people and injured scores of others

NEW DELHI (AP) — A fire raced through a firecracker factory in central India on Tuesday, killing six people and injuring about 40 others as it sparked other explosions, officials said.

Videos on social media showed smoke and flames billowing from the factory as people fled the area in fear.

The cause of the fire in Harda in Madhya Pradesh state was not immediately clear.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav told a local television channel that at least six people died. About 40 people were injured and others were feared to be trapped, local official Rishi Garg told the Press Trust of India news agency.

There is a huge demand in India for firecrackers, which are used in religious festivals and weddings. Fatal accidents occur nearly every year as people work in makeshift factories without proper safety measures.

An explosion at a firecracker factory in southern India last July killed eight people. In 2018, a massive fire at a firecracker factory in New Delhi killed 17 workers. A year earlier, a blast killed 23 people while they were making firecrackers in a village in Madhya Pradesh state in central India.