Three Killed, Eight Injured in Explosion at Sivakasi Firecracker Unit

Three workers died and eight others were injured when a blast ripped through a firecracker unit near Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, on Sunday morning.

The incident occurred at around 10 am on Sunday at Ratna Fire Works factory when the workers were making 'Manimarunthu', a mixture of chemicals ued for making fancy firecrackers, according to The Times of India.

"Out of the eight injured persons, seven have been admitted to a Sivakasi hospital, and one has been referred to a hospital in Madurai," a police official said from Virudhunagar district told IANS.

According to Revenue officials, the explosion happened when mixing of the chemicals sparked a fire. The three people died in the incident has been identified as Chelliah, Kani and Marimuthu, according to TOI.

Among the injured, four of them have suffered 80 percent burn injuries and their condition is said to be critical. Firemen had reached the spot and doused the fire that erupted after the explosion.

Since it was a Sunday, the fireworks units in the surrounding area were closed.  

However, some workers decided to work on holiday. These people were making 'Manimarunthu' outside the building where the accident happened.

In the past two weeks, a series of accidents happened at the fireworks unit following which officials have planned an inspection to check violations.

"We will start our inspections again to check violations. Four teams each headed by deputy tahsildars will carry out inspection in all the fireworks factories", Sivakasi Revenue Divisional Officer, S Rangan told TOI.