MADURAI: Three workers, including two women, were killed in an explosion at an illegal firecracker unit operated out of a small house on a narrow street at Vijayakarisalkulam near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district on Saturday morning.
The deceased were identified as Jagatheeswaran (21), Muthulakshmi (70), Shanmuga Thai (60), all natives of Keel Kothai Nachiyarpuram in Virudhunagar. Another worker, Mariyammal (55), who sustained 90% burns, has been shifted to Sivakasi Government Hospital. Her condition continues to be critical, sources said.
Ponnupandiyan, owner of the unit, has been arrested under Section 105 of BNS (causing death without malice) for operating the unit in a house without valid permit. He has been remanded in custody.
Police said the blast occurred around 11.30am when the four workers were engaged in cracker manufacturing at the unit that was in operation for the past few months. Friction due to collision between boxes containing chemicals is suspected to have triggered the blast.
According to sources, as the victims’ workspace was a narrow passage inside the small 150-square-foot house, they were unable to escape from the blaze and were killed on the spot.
Cracker blast victims joined unit just a few weeks ago
Fire and rescue services personnel from Vembakottai Fire Station, who rushed to the spot, recovered the bodies and sent them for postmortem. The four victims had joined the unit only a few weeks ago. As the house is located on a narrow stretch, fire-tender could not enter the unit. Hence, a long firehose stretching to several metres had to be used and the fire was extinguished after an hour-long effort, sources said.