Two workers killed, five injured in Tamil Nadu fireworks unit blast

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Two workers died and five others sustained injuries in a blast at a fireworks unit in Gangarseval village in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.According to police sources, the accident took place at Divya Pyrotechnics, owned by Marimuthu.

There are nearly 30 working sheds in the unit, which is licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation.On Wednesday, at around 1.30pm, when the workers were mixing chemicals required for the manufacture of fancy/aerial variety crackers in one of the sheds, a blast was triggered due to friction. In the impact, two working sheds were damaged.Gowri, 50, a resident of the Sri Lankan rehabilitation camp in Kandiyapuram, died on the spot, and six other workers sustained injuries.

The injured were rushed to the Sivakasi govt hospital for treatment. Later in the evening, Kalimuthu, 45, died at the hospital. Five other workers – Jeyalakshmi, 55, Manimegalai, 40, Kumaresan, 30, Mariammal, 40, and Sivaranjani, 48, a resident of Sri Lankan rehabilitation camp in Kandiyapuram, are undergoing treatment at the hospital.Meanwhile, fire and rescue services personnel rushed to the spot and doused the fire.

The Alangulam police registered a case and arrested Somasundaram, the foreman of the unit.In a statement, chief minister M K Stalin said that he was saddened by the death of the workers in the blast. He stated that he has instructed the doctors to provide proper treatment to the workers who suffered injuries. Expressing his condolences, Stalin announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased. The CM also announced Rs1 lakh each to the workers who suffered severe injuries and Rs 50,000 each to those who suffered minor injuries.