VIRUDHUNAGAR: A massive explosion that ripped through a firecracker factory in Kattanarpatti near Virudhunagar killed 23 people, including 18 women, while 11 others are battling for life after sustaining severe burn injuries, on Sunday afternoon.
Officials suspect that the blast was triggered when the workers were mixing chemicals used for making crackers. Such was the force of the explosion that four rooms within the premises were flattened and the sound of the blast was reportedly heard up to a distance of 10 km.
More than 50 workers were present at the factory at the time of the accident, said local officials. It is not clear if there are bodies under the rubble; it will be known only during rescue efforts.
After receiving alerts about the disaster, fire tenders led by Virudhunagar Divisional Fire Officer Muthupandi and Sivakasi Fire Officer Srinivasan rushed to the spot and commenced rescue operations.
Even as fire personnel were engaged in clearing the rubble, the highly inflammable material lying amid the debris caught fire and exploded, spreading panic among the rescue workers.
At the time of going to press, the rescue team recovered the bodies of 23 workers.
District Collector NO Sukhaputra, Madurai Range DIG Abhinav Kumar, and District SP N Shreenatha visited the accident site and supervised the rescue operations. Officials said that an inquiry would be conducted into the matter and appropriate action would be taken.
Terming the incident deeply distressing, Chief Minister MK Stalin said he has instructed authorities to ensure that all necessary assistance should be provided without delay. Based on his direction, senior Ministers KKSSR Ramachandran and Thangam Thennarasu rushed to the site to monitor rescue operations and provide support to the affected families.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and several others expressed condolence over the loss of life in the accident.