Virudhunagar: At least eight workers, including five women, were killed and three others were injured in a blaze at a fireworks-manufacturing unit in Sivakasi on Thursday, police said.
Police and fire service personnel rushed the injured to the government hospital in Sivakasi. The condition of one person among the injured is very critical, a senior police official said, and added that the cause of the fire was being ascertained.
About 10 workers were employed at the private firecracker manufacturing unit at Sengamalapatti near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district when the blast occurred in the afternoon, he said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who expressed condolences over the incident, directed the district authorities to provide appropriate medical care to the injured and save lives.
Eight workers, including five women and three men, were killed in the accident at a fireworks-manufacturing unit near Sengamalapatti in Sivakasi in the district. Seven rooms where the firecrackers were stocked were completely gutted, police said.
Police and fire service personnel rushed the injured to the government hospital in Sivakasi. A senior police official said the cause of the fire was being ascertained and added that the unit is a licenced one.
Expressing grief over the death of the five women and three men in the explosion, Chief Minister Stalin said that immediately after receiving information about the accident, he directed the district collector to promptly launch a rescue operation.
It was learnt that more than 10 persons were injured and they required medical attention, he said. “I have directed the officials to ensure appropriate life-saving treatment for the injured,” Stalin said in a release here.
The state government will extend relief to the affected families after obtaining due consent from the Election Commission (as the Model Code of Conduct is in force till June 4), he said, and extended his deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families.
