Seven killed in Sivakasi cracker

Seven workers were killed in an explosion in a fire cracker manufacturing unit at Namskarithanpatti in Thiruthangal police station limits of Sivakasi, about 550 km from here, on Monday.

“There was a sudden explosion in one of the 65 rooms of Sri Krishna Fireworks, where over 200 men and women were making crackers. A major fire broke out after the explosion. Four workers, including a woman, died on the spot, while three injured workers died in hospital,” an official from the Virudhunagar district collector’s office said.

“We have registered a case. Investigations are on, but there’s no information on what caused the explosion at the cracker unit. Fifteen critically-injured workers have been shifted to hospitals in Madurai, while 23 have been admitted in hospitals at Sivakasi.
The death toll could go up as some critically-injured workers are reportedly battling for life,” sources said adding that, “Fire crackers such as rockets flew haphazardly and caused a major fire in adjacent rooms. Four fire fighters from neighbouring Virudhunagar and Srivalliputhur regions brought the fire under control in two hours.”

This is the second accident in a fire cracker unit in Tamil Nadu. Seventeen people died earlier this month after an explosion at VBM Fireworks in Vadkampatti in Usilampatti, 30 km from Madurai.

“With the festive season beginning in mid-August, there’s a lot of pressure on these units. In the process, workers tend to ignore safety measures,” a source said.