Three employees of a cracker unit were killed in an explosion at the factory on Sivakasi-Sattur Road on Thursday afternoon.
According to sources, the mishap occurred at Parasakthi Fireworks, owned by one Sivapiran at Konampatti village around 3.00 pm when the three employees - K Ravi (48), K Rajagopal (38) and S Rajarathinam - all hailing from Thiruthangal near Sivakasi - were preparing chemicals for use in fireworks, in one of the rooms.
Police said that friction caused during the filling of chemicals triggered the explosion. While Ravi and Rajagopal died on the spot, Rajarathinam died hours later at the Sivakasi Government Hospital.
Following the incident, a team of Fire and Rescue Services led by Nagarajan, Sivakasi Station Fire Officer (Transport), rushed to the spot and began rescue operations.
They removed the bodies of the workers using an earthmover. Meanwhile, the company announced a compensation of `4 lakh to each of the families of the deceased while an additional `15,000 would be given for conducting the last rites.
Around 250 people are employed in the unit, which has a total of 80 rooms. Sivakasi East Police registered a case and began investigations into the accident.
In 2012, 49 lives were lost in accidents in Sivakasi’s cracker factories. Sources say as many 266 people have been killed in such accidents in Sivakasi from 2003 to 2012.