Police said people noticed smoke from a car, which was parked on the national highway, with three occupants, making a futile attempt to douse the smoke.
Updated at 4.30pm
VILLUPURAM/TAMIL NADU: Fourteen persons were killed and 25 injured, some seriously, when a car, carrying Gelatine sticks and detonators, blew up at Senthur village on Saturday.
The injured were rushed to a government hospital in Tindivanam.
Initial reports had said 20 persons were killed.
The car, carrying the explosives from a godown of a licensed dealer at Tirukoilur, developed an engine problem as it entered the National Highway 47 at Senthur, police sources said.
When one of the three occupants saw smoke and sparks emanating from the rear of the vehicle, he stopped the car.
As they were were trying to douse the sparks with sand the car exploded, killing ten persons including the three occupants on the spot, while others succumbed to injuries on way to hospital.
Some of the victims were picking tamarind from a tree when the mishap occurred.
The impact of the explosion was so severe that nearby huts were gutted and even pucca buildings like a school in the vicinity damaged.
Police denied that the car was carrying RDX material.
People used to pick ripe tamarind from the trees in the National Highways, to eke out a living during the summer, police said.
Police was inquiring whether the explosives were being transported illegally.
The Villupuram District Collector has ordered an inquiry into the mishap, the sources added.
PMK founder S Ramadoss, who visited the spot, told reporters that the state government should pay relief of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of those killed and reconstruct the damaged houses.
Explosives and components used in bombs have been seized in recent weeks in Tamil Nadu and in the waters off the state's coast. Officials believe these materials were being smuggled to the LTTE in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (North) K Radhakrishnan ruled out the possibility that the explosives were being smuggled out of the state.
He told reporters the car was going to Tindivanam and not towards the coastal areas of Cuddalore, which was in the opposite direction.
Police said the explosives were meant for the expansion of National Highway 47 as the contractors used them to blast rocks to build a four-lane road.
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