CHENNAI: A day after two died in the accident at a Virudhunagar firecracker unit, the toll has increased by one with a 25-year-old succumbing to injuries on Thursday.
On Wednesday, an explosion occured at Thalamuthu fireworks unit at Vachchakarapatti in Virudhunagar. The blast, according to initial reports, was caused due to friction in materials used for making firecrackers.
Two workers, P Kaliraj (20) and Veerakumar (50), died immediately after the blast. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin offered a solatium of Rs 3 lakhs to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to the families of the injured.
Saravanakumar (25) was being treated along with another injured worker Sundaramurthy (18) at the Virudhunagar Government Hospital. Both were admitted to the hospital with grievous injuries.
With Saravanakumar's demise the death toll has increased to three.
Meanwhile, the unit's manager Karuppasamy (50) was arrested due to negligence. Besides Karuppasamy, cases have been booked against the unit's owner Murugesan and Lessee Muthu Kumar. However, Murugesan and Muthu Kumar are yet to be arrested.