Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: Three persons were killed today when two diesel generator sets installed in a restaurant compound along the National Highway No. 5 near Khandagiri Square exploded after fire particles from crackers allegedly fell on them.

Four others got injured in the incident that took place around 5.30pm, when a person, who used to frequent the restaurant, was bursting firecrackers in front of the eatery.

The body parts of the three victims - Kashinath Samantray, 35, a waiter, Silu Mishra, 42, the restaurant manger, and S. Raula, 28, a security guard - were thrown far away from the spot. The explosion was so severe that people could hear it from a distance up to 500 metres. With windowpanes of the restaurant shattering, there were glass shards scattered all around the place after the blast.

"The customer has given a bagful of crackers to the eatery's security guard, who has kept the crackers near the diesel generator sets. When the customer lighted up a cracker, sparks fell on the crackers' bag kept near the running generators and on the sets, causing the blast," said Ajay Jena, an eyewitness.

The injured were identified as Ashok Choudhury, Bibekananda Mohapatra, Prananath Sahu and Tapan Behera. They were rushed to Capital Hospital and other private hospitals in the city and Cuttack. Other details about them are being ascertained by police.

"All the injured have suffered burn injuries in various parts of their bodies. Besides glass splinters have also penetrated their body parts. One of the injured was critical and later referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack," said a doctor at Capital Hospital.

The explosion caused panic in the area with people running helter-skelter. "The explosion was so severe that we ran for cover thinking that some high intensity bomb has exploded in the area. Luckily, there was a transformer a few metres away from the generator, which did not blast; otherwise the casualties would have been much more," said a shop owner near the restaurant.

"All happened within a fraction of second, and before we could realise the generators had exploded. I ran to a nearby house to save my life, but the impact of the blast was so severe that splinters of the glass door of the restaurant plunged into my abdomen and other parts of the body," said a survivor.

Rohit Kumar, in charge of secretariat fire station, said it took fire fighters around half an hour to douse the flames. "We also rescued a person, who was caught in the generator," said Kumar.

The police suspect that bursting of firecrackers led to the mishap. "Further investigation is on to ascertain whether the generators blasted because of firecracker blast or due to short circuit. We have been advising residents to take precautions while bursting crackers," said police commissioner R.P. Sharma. The police said there was around 200 litres of diesel in both the generators, which was enough to trigger a massive blast.

In another development, the fire department and the police have made elaborate arrangements to ensure a safe Diwali. While as many as six fire tenders have been kept ready in the city to deal with any possible mishaps, a special police squad is also ready to take action against cracker shops engaged in sale of crackers beyond sound levels of 125 decibel.

On the other hand, the Odisha State Pollution Control Board has asked the public to burst crackers safely and in the open places. The board has also urged the people to follow government norms that do not allow bursting of crackers in silence zones such as areas in and around hospitals.