VIRUDHUNAGAR: The death toll in the fire accident in the cracker manufacturing unit in Chippiparai rose to nine after a man’s charred head and hand were found near the spot on Saturday early morning.
The deceased has been identified as Gurusamy (53). Sources said that his severed head and hand were recovered from a cotton field, some 300 metres away from the cracker unit.
In the fire accident on Friday, seven women were charred to death on the spot. A man later succumbed to injuries later in a hospital. Ten others are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kovilpatti. Sources said that the blast occurred while preparing a specific category of crackers for which the unit, Sri Rajammal Fireworks, did not have the licence.
They said that Gurusamy could have been there at the chemical mixing room when the blast happened and he would have been blown away from the blast site. A case has been registered against five persons, including R Ganesan, the proprietor of the unit, and Mathiyazhagan, Maheswaran, Kutty and Ganesan under sections 286, 338, 304 (1) of IPC read with 9B (1)(a) of Indian Explosives Act. Further investigations are on.