Bhubaneswar: A 56-year-old man was reportedly killed in an explosion at an illegal firecracker unit in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district today.

The deceased has been identified as Khageswar Palei of Mahulapatna village under Baisinga police limits in Mayurbhanj.

Palei had set up an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit at a makeshift room near his house. He had reportedly stored huge quantities of explosives to manufacture firecrackers for a few wedding ceremonies in the locality.

The explosion took place while Palei was inside the cracker unit at around 2 pm in the afternoon. He was charred to death due to the explosion.

On being informed, police reached the spot and launched a probe into the incident.