TIRUCHY: The CB-CID team, probing into the blast in the explosives manufacturing factory near Thuraiyur on December 1, arrested two senior employees of the factory on Saturday evening. Six such teams have been formed to trace the unit owner.
The arrested were produced before the Magistrate in Tiruchy and remanded in judicial custody. They were Prakasam, project director, and Rajagopalan, production manager of Vetrivel Explosives Private Ltd located in T Murungapatti.
Earlier, following demands for fair probe and arrest of perpetrators, Tiruchy administration under the provisions of Explosives Act, 1884 appointed District Revenue Officer K Tharpagaraj to probe the accident.
Even as reports surfaced that as many as five officials of the private explosive factory was arrested by the CB-CID team, CB-CID SP S Rajeshwari denied the reports and maintained that few persons have only been secured but refused to share details.
On Saturday, the chemicals and explosives recovery process, jointly taken up by the Controller of Explosives, the Fire Service and Rescue Services and the district administration, came to a crucial stage.
Sources involved in moving residual chemicals said the work might go on for another couple of days. About 80 per cent of explosives have been moved to magazines (safe houses) at one end of the factory.
Vetrivel Explosives Private Limited, where the blast that occurred on December 1 killed 19 workers, had been manufacturing several industrial explosives, including seismic explosives.
Also, the unit was manufacturing 1,200 kg of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) per day. PETN is considered to be the most powerful compound in explosives. There were dangerous explosive components found stored both in powder and liquid forms, said official sources.
Since Friday, a team of officials, including Controller of Explosives from Chennai, Vellore and Sivakasi, have been camping at the site for safe removal of chemicals.
Speaking to Express, G Sathyanarayana, Deputy Director (in-charge), Central Region, who has been assisting in the operation, said, “Firemen are assisting the Controller of Explosives personnel to safely move the explosives. Top priority has been given to move dangerous explosive materials safely from the factory. We are also helping in the process of neutralising chemicals such as nitric acid.”