OREANDA-NEWS  At least five people were killed and 34 others injured in an explosion at a pyrotechnics factory in Punjab state in northwestern India, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

"At least five people were killed and 34 injured on Friday morning as a result of a powerful explosion at midnight at a two-story firecracker factory located ... in the Muktsar district of Punjab," the newspaper writes.

It is noted that the explosion was so strong that it led to the collapse of a two-story building, and search and rescue operations are underway. The number of victims may increase, as someone else may be under the rubble.