In a major blast in a firecracker unit located in Olugacherry village in Thanjavur district on Friday afternoon, nine persons were killed and 15 others were injured. According to police sources, the blast occurred when the manufacturing and sales of crackers were underway in Dhanalakshmi Fire Works in the village on the eve of Deepavali.
It is said that more than 20 people were working in the unit at the time of the blast, besides some locals who had come to buy crackers. There were three sheds with asbestos roofs and walls in the unit where production was underway. The blast occurred around 2.30 pm, said Senthamizh Kumar of Olugacherry, a worker at the unit who was injured in the blast. He added that youth from nearby villages had come to the unit for buying crackers during the blasts.
Three consecutive blasts alerted the people of the village who rushed to the unit in the midst of paddy fields. They found bodies of victims thrown away in the fields, while some were hurled on treetops as well. Five ambulances rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to the Kumbakonam Government Hospital and Tiruppanandal Hospital. Some of them succumbed to injuries.
Of the nine dead, those identified were S Ananth Kumar (14), a Class IX student, C Anandhi (19), S Ranjith (18), B Venkatesan (16), a Class XI student, Vanitha (30), wife of Sundar, one of the owners of the unit, R Rajkumar of Olugacherry, V Sridhar of Tirubhuvanam, Murugesh of Kangeyanpettai and Kumar. The injured included Senthamizh Kumar, Banupriya (29), Aravind Kumar (14) and Chithra (20).
The cracker unit was licenced in the name of Dhanalakshmi, wife of Rajangam. Their sons Krishnamurthy and Sundar were running the unit. It is said that its licence was renewed in September.