Chennai, 1 July (H.S.): A devastating explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, has resulted in the deaths of six workers, with several others injured. The incident occurred on Saturday morning at the Sainath Fireworks factory in Bommaiyapuram, where 84 workers were present at the time of the blast. Preliminary investigations suggest that friction between chemicals during the mixing process may have triggered the explosion.

The factory, owned by Balaji and operated under a lease agreement, reportedly lacked proper safety measures, and inexperienced personnel were employed for manufacturing crackers. The police have registered a case against four individuals, including the factory owner, co-owner Sasipalan, and manager Das, with two persons still at large. The bodies of the deceased, identified as Velmurugan, Kamraj, Nagaraj, Kannan, Meenakshisundaram, and Sivakumar, were recovered from the debris.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has announced a solatium of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the deceased and has instructed doctors to provide proper treatment to the injured workers. The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) officials visited the blast site, collected samples, and conducted inspections. The police are working to remove debris and investigate the cause of the explosion .

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary