KRISHNAGIRI: A fire broke out at a chemical plant inside Tata Electronics Private Limited at Ullukurukkai village near Rayakottai in the early hours of Saturday. Though no casualties were reported, 11 people suffered after inhaling the fumes and were taken to a private hospital at Hosur for treatment. Eight of them were treated as outpatients and the others were admitted.
Krishnagiri Collector KM Sarayu said, "A total of 523 workers were in the plant, and all of them were safely evacuated. The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed. Fire personnel from Krishnagiri district, Salem and Bengaluru were pressed into service to contain the blaze. Assessment of damage is yet to be carried out."
He also added that the district administration and Tata Electronics Private Limited are checking the health of all 523 workers, some of whom have gone back to their native districts.
The district health officers concerned will keep a check on their health. As many as 32 medical teams were constituted in Krishnagiri district to check the staff's health and a control room has been opened at the collectorate, he stated.
Sarayu further mentioned that Tirupattur Collector K Tharpagaraj reached Krishnagiri district following instructions from Chief Minister MK Stalin. Krishnagiri district monitoring officer Shilpa Prabhakar Satish will also monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, Veppanahalli MLA and AIADMK deputy general secretary KP Munusamy and Thalli MLA T Ramachandran visited the plant.
Krishnagiri SP P Thangadurai said forensic experts from Chennai will ascertain the cause of the fire on Sunday.
A Tata Electronics spokesperson said, "Our emergency protocols at the plant ensured that all our employees were safe. The cause of the fire is under investigation."
Over 100 police personnel were deployed at the Tata plant.