VIRUDHUNAGAR: The death toll in the Sengamalapatti cracker blast rose to five with the identification of two more victims and the death of an injured person on Monday.
In a tragic incident on Sunday, R Ramprakash (38) and S Inachimuthu (44) died while R Ramachandran (40) sustained severe injuries while illegally manufacturing adiyal (Paper bomb crackers) in a shed. Ramachandran succumbed to his injuries on Monday.
Two other workers S Ayyaparaj (37) and M Pandithurai (35) who were also allegedly engaged in the production couldn’t be identified on Sunday.
Police and officials from the Revenue department on Sunday said that it was not clear whether Ayyaparaj and Pandithurai had escaped from the scene or were among the deceased, as only unidentified body parts were recovered.
On Monday, family members of Pandithurai identified his remains following which the body was sent for postmortem.
Later in the evening, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay expressed his condolence to the families of the victims whose identities had been confirmed and announced a solatium of `4 lakh each.
He also directed the district collector N O Sukhaputra to review whether cracker units in the region were operating illegally without government licences and initiate appropriate action.
District administration officials also confirmed that the remains of Ayyaparaj had been identified and a postmortem would be conducted.