Kolkata, Jan 11 : One of the four people who sustained burns following a massive explosion at a firecracker factory in South 24 Parganas district's Champahati area, succumbed on Sunday, the police said.

According to the reports, Gouhari Ganguly succumbed to burns around 1.30 a.m. at MR Bangur Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment.

A senior officer of Kolkata Police said, "Early on Sunday morning, one of the critically injured people succumbed to his wounds in the hospital."

"Ganguly, who was around 70 years old and sustained around 80 per cent burns, succumbed," the senior officer said.

Meanwhile, the condition of the other three people, Gour Gangopadhyay, Kishan Mandal and Rahul Mandal, was critical.

According to police sources, the investigation into the explosion, which occurred on Saturday, is underway, and the owner of the firecracker factory is absconding.

The incident occurred in Haral village under the Champahati area of â??â??the Baruipur police station.

Soon after the explosion, the Fire Department was informed.

Acting on the information, one fire engine rushed to the spot to douse the fire.

Additional Superintendent of Police of Baruipur Police District, Rupantar Sengupta, said that the cause of the fire was being investigated.

According to local sources, a loud explosion occurred in the firecracker factory.

Several workers were engaged in making firecrackers when the explosion occurred. The impact was so powerful that a part of the unit was reduced to rubble. A large tree nearby was also set ablaze.

The Baruipur Police Station was informed, and officers quickly arrived at the spot. The injured were taken to the Baruipur Super Speciality Hospital for treatment. Later, they were transferred to MR Bangur Hospital in Kolkata.

Locals claimed that the explosion occurred at the "house" of firecracker trader Pintu Mondal.

Mondal's "house" was destroyed in the fire triggered by the explosion, they said.

A similar explosion had occurred in the same Sardar Para area of â??â??Haral village about a year ago.

/IANS