VIRUDHUNAGAR: The death toll in the Kalaiyarkurichi cracker explosion climbed to four as a 52-year-old victim, who was undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Virudhunagar, succumbed to injuries in the early hours of Saturday. The deceased was identified as K Sankaravel, a resident of Sevalur, who had sustained 90% burns in the explosion at Supreme Fireworks near Sivakasi on Tuesday.
While two workers — P Mariappan (45) and T Muthumurugan (45) — were charred to death at the blast site, one other, identified as K Saroja (50) of Sithanayakkanpatti, succumbed to her injuries at a hospital on Friday night. Preliminary investigation revealed that the explosion occurred due to the mishandling of chemicals while the workers were unloading gunpowder.
Initially, Saroja and Sankaravel were admitted to a government hospital in Sivakasi, and later shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Virudhunagar, where they died after failing to respond to treatment. Meanwhile, the cracker unit foreman, Gunasekaran, and manager Panneerselvam were arrested and remanded under judicial custody. However, unit owner Murugavel is still on the run, sources said.