VIRUDHUNAGAR: Two persons were killed while two others are feared dead and one sustained severe injuries after an explosion at a shed during the illegal manufacture of firecrackers in Sengamalapatti near Sivakasi on Sunday.
The explosion occurred at a tin-roofed shed near an agricultural well on a farmland. According to police, the land is owned by siblings R Ramprakash (38) and R Ramachandran (40) of Sengamalapatti. At the time of the blast, they were allegedly engaged along with S Inachimuthu (44) and his brother S Ayyaparaj (37) of Meenampatti, and M Pandithurai (35) of Naranapuram in the illegal manufacturing of adiyal (paper bomb crackers).
Following the blast, a 20-member team from the fire and rescue services department carried out the rescue operation. Speaking to TNIE, a personnel involved in the operation said the team reached the spot within seven minutes of receiving the alert, but the explosions continued. It took nearly 30 minutes to bring the fire under control, and the rescue operation, which began around 8.37 am, continued until 2.30 pm.
As part of the search, firefighters also drained water from a well near the blast site to check whether any victims or their body parts had fallen inside due to the explosion.
“Initially, the body parts of Ramprakash and Inachimuthu were recovered from the shed. During the subsequent search, dismembered remains were found scattered around the blast site,” the firefighter said, adding that Ramachandran, who sustained severe burns, is under treatment.
Senior officials from the police and revenue departments said it was not clear whether Ayyaparaj and Pandithurai had escaped from the spot or were among the deceased as the body parts remain unidentified. The recovered body parts will be sent for DNA analysis to establish their identity.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that the shed had been erected six months ago while the illegal manufacture of firecrackers is believed to have begun only about a week ago.
Meanwhile, following the incident, during an inspection against illegal cracker manufacturing, Sivakasi East police arrested 11 people for allegedly manufacturing firecrackers illegally under a shed near Sivakasi.