3 killed, 7 injured in blast at fireworks unit in Sivakasi

Virudhunagar: Three women workers were killed and seven others injured in an explosion caused by friction during manufacture of firecrackers at a unit in M Pudhupatti, Sivakasi on Saturday.

Police said the incident happened in Standard Fireworks, which is licensed by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation. It has nearly 80 working sheds where around 100 workers are employed.

On Saturday morning, the workers were involved in various processes of cracker manufacture in the working sheds when a blast suddenly ripped through one of the sheds where chemicals were being filled for fancy aerial crackers. Three women workers, Mariammal, 51, Thiruvaimozhi, 48, and Kalaiselvi, 35, died on the spot. The fire started to spread to nearby working sheds. Seven women workers, Bagyalakshmi, Gomathi, and Pathimuthu, all 55, Rabiya Beevi, 50, Ramasubbu, 43, Lakshmi, 40, and Muniammal, 40, sustained injuries.

Fire and rescue services personnel from Sivakasi and Srivilliputhur rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire. The injured were taken to Sivakasi govt hospital for treatment. Bodies of the deceased women were recovered from the debris of the sheds and sent for postmortem. With this, 13 workers have died in four explosions at fireworks making units in the region so far this year. There were 42 casualties last year in similar explosions in Virudhunagar district and 40 deaths in 2023.

A fire department official said after preliminary investigation that the blast was triggered by mishandling of chemicals. M Pudhupatti police registered a case and arrested the unit's foreman Subburaj, and manager Rajesh. Police are on the lookout for unit owner Jaishankar. The firecracker unit's licence has been suspended.

Expressing sadness at the deaths, chief minister M K Stalin instructed doctors to provide proper treatment to the injured workers. He announced a compensation of Rs4 lakh each to the family members of the deceased, and Rs1 lakh each to the injured workers. A sum of Rs50,000 has been given to those who sustained minor injuries.

Meanwhile, MDMK principal secretary and Trichy MP Durai Vaiko urged the state govt to identify the causes of the accident and take steps to prevent them in future. He sought framing of new rules in the insurance system to ensure that family members of the deceased workers received Rs25 lakh as relief.

AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran said more than 100 workers have lost their lives in accidents in fireworks units in the past four years. Tamil Maanila Congress leader G K Vasan and former AIADMK leader V K Sasikala have also urged the govt to find a permanent solution to prevent such incidents.