THOOTHUKUDI: Four persons died in an explosion at a firecracker unit at Thuraiyur village near Kovilpatti on Thursday.
The incident happened around 2 pm when four of the total 130 workers of the unit returned after the lunch break. Sources said the whole building collapsed in the impact of the blast.
Fire and rescue personnel doused the fire. A JCB machine was also brought in to retrieve the bodies from the rubble. The cracker unit belong to R Prabakaran of Rajiv Nagar in Kovilpatti. A top official told TNIE, “Two workers were carrying 5 kg of explosive chemicals in a vessel, and it could have hit something, triggering the explosion.”
The deceased were identified as Ramar of Eratchi, Jeyaraj of Thottampatti, Thangavel of Kumarapuram and Kannan of Nalattinpudur. Collector Dr K Senthil Raj, Superintendent of Police S Jeyakumar, Kovilpatti MLA Kadambur C Raju and others visited the spot and consoled the relatives.
“The owner possesses all permits required to run the unit. The four had been working here for the last 20 years. Investigation is underway to find out the cause,” Jeyakumar told TNIE.