The time was 12.30 pm on Saturday, February 17, 2024. The otherwise sleepy hamlets adjoining Kundayirappu village in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu were suddenly rattled by a series of explosions.
The epicentre of the explosions, caused by "human error" in the words of officials, was a fireworks factory at the village located seven kilometres away from Vembakottai town, an important archaeological site where several Sangam-era artefacts were discovered during field explorations.
Once the blasts stopped, cries began rending the air. A little while later these wails were to be submerged by the sirens of fire tenders and ambulances that had arrived at the scene.
Ten persons had died there, it emerged. Six more suffered burns and were admitted to the hospitals. Of the six, one had suffered 80 percent burns and another 65 percent burns, police said.
Several rooms of the Asok Sparklers factory where the explosions went off were also ripped apart.
A three-year-old who was waiting for his father
In adjoining Kiliyampatti village, the three-year-old son of S Rameshpandi (28) was waiting for his father to return from work with chicken rice, as he usually does on Saturday nights. What the child didn’t know was that his father had died in the blasts.
"He kept asking for Ramesh and refused to touch the food we gave saying his father will bring it when he comes back," said G Santhi (33), a relative of Rameshpandi. She works in another firecracker unit in the region.
Santhi lost another relative Karupasamy (28) too in the accident.
Rameshpandi had joined Asok Sparklers after quitting an electrician's job three years ago since the new job paid him a few thousands more.
His brother-in-law Saravanan said Ramesh was earning around Rs 12,000 a month when he was working as an electrician. At the firecrackers factory, he earned a minimum of Rs 20,000 per month plus bonuses.
The work hours were usually from 9 am to 5 pm and for extra hours workers were paid an additional Rs 1,000, those in the village said.
Rameshpandi's brother Maheshpandi said that the lure of a better income has made many opt for work at the firecrackers factories. But then there was always the danger of such accidents. Now, Rameshpandi has left behind his wife and two young children to fend for themselves.
The inconsolable niece
S Murugeswari (27), a resident of Wartrap who lost her aunt V Santha (44) in the blast, was inconsolable and spoke of the false promises made by authorities and how they have failed to put an end to such avoidable accidents. All it needed was for the officers to enforce the norms, she and others in the village said.
Murugeswari said Santha was the sole breadwinner of the family and had been taking care of her husband, her daughter, and stepdaughter with the wages she earned.
"Aunt had been so affectionate to all of us. With the income earned from the cracker unit, she managed to get her step daughter married and has been managing the medical expenses of her husband who has health issues including diabetes, besides helping meet the educational expenses of her 19-year-old daughter and also managing every day expenses of the family," Murugeswari said.
Tragedy also struck the family of G Murugeswari (48) whose husband M Gurusamy (52) died in the blast.
An inconsolable Murugeswari told TNIE that the couple had been blessed with two daughters after 16 years of married life. On Saturday morning, the couple left for work at Asok Sparklers. Unlike other days, Murugeswari recollected, Gurusamy was assigned the work of filling chemicals into atom bomb crackers. She said that her husband was apprehensive of the presence of excessive people in the room, but continued with his work. That was the last update Murugeswari had received from Gurusamy.
"Around 15 minutes later, I heard a series of blasts and fled from the spot. Later, when I went in search of my husband, I found only his dead body," she said. The couple had started working at the unit three years ago. The double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and insufficient wages at spinning mills compelled them to take up jobs at the cracker unit.
What authorities say
S Hariram, the sub-inspector, said that police received a call from the factory at around 12.50 pm and he reached the spot around 1.05 pm.
The place was reduced to debris by then and charred bodies remained scattered in the rooms.
"The blast had occurred in the first room and spread to the adjoining three other rooms. Each room is supposed to have around three workers," he said.
The size of the rooms were around 100 sq ft, according to him.
Sources said the rooms were overcrowded. Sattur Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Sivakumar confirmed that there were around 20 workers working in the rooms when the explosion took place.
When asked about the violations, he said that the blasts at fireworks factories usually occur due to human error.
"It is a risky business. If a worker is careless, it would lead to such tragedies," the SI noted.
The profit-oriented factories are also guilty of violating norms, other sources added.
Kundayiruppu village comes under the jurisdiction of the Alankulam police station. A woman cop who responded to the phone call said that there are as many as 70 fireworks factories under their limits.
Two persons have been arrested in connection with Saturday's blast.
'100 percent safe'
Asok Sparklers claims, according to its website, that the sparklers it manufacturers are 100% safe and can be used by children too.
"For over 17 years, our fireworks are being used at public and private display shows, weddings, parties, gala events, product launches, temple festivals, award ceremonies and sports nights," the website notes.
A day after the blasts, the factory was temporarily closed. The mobile number associated with Asok Sparklers remained switched off on Sunday.
Asok Sparklers is run by a couple and their son. PCG Asok Kumar is the Founder, his wife A Radhika the Director and son GA Vignesh is the Managing Director.
The factory has 250 employees who are "familiar with the working of the sparklers manufacturing unit."
Vignesh has been booked in connection with the blasts.
A report quoting official data said that 131 people have died in accidents at firecracker units in the state between 2019 and 2023. And now these ten lives have been added to that list.
Every attempt must be made to avert the likelihood of another such accident. Will it be?
