India firecracker warehouse blaze kills eight: police

• Cause of fire being ascertained: police chief.
• Fire broke out during Hindu festival preparations.
• Indian PM offers condolences to victims' families.
  

A firecracker storage facility in southern India caught fire on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, police said, the second such incident in three days.

Nakul Rajendra Deshmukh, police chief in Kerala state's Thrissur district, told AFP that rescue operations were "over" after the deadly fire, which also left 15 people injured including two in critical condition.

The cause of the fire was being ascertained, he added.

Local media said it broke out during preparations for a Hindu festival.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a social media post that he was "saddened" by the loss of lives and offered his "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims.

On Sunday, 20 people died in a similar blaze at a firecracker factory in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

Industrial accidents are common in India, often due to poor adherence to safety regulations and weak enforcement.

Last month, another fire at a fireworks factory in western India killed 17 people.