At least 15 persons were charred to death as an explosion ripped through a fireworks manufacturing unit near Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu on Friday afternoon.
More than 30 people working inside the factory in Achankulam village in Vembakkottai taluk have been rushed to various hospitals in the district after suffering severe burn injuries.
Many of the injured are said to be critical, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, adding that doctors and nurses from other facilities are being rushed to the hospitals where the injured have been taken. Videos taken at the spot showed extensive damages to the sheds inside which the workers were making fire crackers. Eye witnesses said the explosion was huge and at least 15 persons died on the spot.
Safety inside the fireworks manufacturing units in and around Sivakasi, the fireworks capital of the country, has been a concern with activists alleging that the authorities did not have adequate measures in place to prevent such incidents.
Virudhunagar district has over 1,100 fireworks manufacturing units with Sivakasi accounting for over 95 per cent of them. These units employ men and women who are daily wage labourers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the family of each of the deceased. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami also issued a statement saying the state government would hand out an additional Rs 3 lakh compensation each to the families of the deceased.
Palaniswami also ordered officials concerned to inspect fireworks manufacturing units periodically to ensure the safety of workers. “I have ordered for a detailed inquiry into the accident,” he said in the statement.
Virudhunagar Congress MP Manickam Tagore asked Modi and Palaniswami to increase the ex-gratia amount and ensure that a team constituted in 2012 to suggest safety measures for the units to complete its work.
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