Last Updated IST
A godown that stored firecrackers goes up in flames at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu on Thursday. PTI
Nine people, including six women, were suffocated to death as a major fire broke out at a cracker godown in Sivakasi town in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, on Thursday.
According to the police, the mishap occurred around 1.15 pm when labourers were loading crackers from the unit to a truck. The fire spread and affected a nearby scan centre, leaving people with no way out. The nine victims were rushed to hospital, but did not survive.
All the workers of the cracker unit are safe, police said. The blaze was brought under control by fire and rescue personnel after a four-hour operation.
Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police Rajaraj said initial investigations revealed that the fire was caused due to the mishandling of the consignment of crackers by the shopkeepers.
Virudhunagar district collector A Sivagnanam said the victims suffered little or no physical injuries. He said people died because they could not exit the scanning centre, which has only one entrance.
Doctors at the Virudhunagar government hospital said four people were affected by smoke inhalation and developed serious breathing difficulties, and two of them are critical. The blaze also damaged 20 vehicles parked close to the cracker unit. The police said many cracker units in Virudhunagar do not follow safety regulations despite possessing valid licences.
According to the police, the mishap occurred around 1.15 pm when labourers were loading crackers from the unit to a truck. The fire spread and affected a nearby scan centre, leaving people with no way out. The nine victims were rushed to hospital, but did not survive.
All the workers of the cracker unit are safe, police said. The blaze was brought under control by fire and rescue personnel after a four-hour operation.
Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police Rajaraj said initial investigations revealed that the fire was caused due to the mishandling of the consignment of crackers by the shopkeepers.
Virudhunagar district collector A Sivagnanam said the victims suffered little or no physical injuries. He said people died because they could not exit the scanning centre, which has only one entrance.
Doctors at the Virudhunagar government hospital said four people were affected by smoke inhalation and developed serious breathing difficulties, and two of them are critical. The blaze also damaged 20 vehicles parked close to the cracker unit. The police said many cracker units in Virudhunagar do not follow safety regulations despite possessing valid licences.
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