Four killed in Tamil Nadu fireworks unit blast

The shed in which fancy firecrackers were being made was completely destroyed

Four workers were killed on the spot in a blast in a fireworks manufacturing unit at Thuraiyoor near here on Thursday afternoon.

The deceased were identified as Kannan, 48, of Nalattinpudhur, Ramar, 42, of Eerachi, Jayaraj, 47, of Thottampatti and Thangavel, 43, of Kumarapuram. The bodies were retrieved by Fire and Rescue Services personnel attached to Kovilpatti station and sent to Kovilpatti Government Hospital for post-mortem.

Police said the blast occurred in one of the 45 sheds of the 25-year-old New Century Fireworks on Kovilpatti– Pasuvanthanai Road, where fancy firecrackers were being made, at 2.15 p.m. on Thursday. The four were killed on the spot while the room with concrete roof in which they were making the crackers and the mound wall around the room were shattered completely.

“The explosion apparently has occurred after one of the deceased had gone inside the room carrying a bucket with chemical mixture used for making firecrackers. The explosion had been apparently triggered as the worker might have fallen down accidentally or handled the bucket precariously,” said District Fire Officer S. Kumar.

District Collector K. Senthil Raj and Superintendent of Police S. Jayakumar inspected the site.