The death toll in Friday's fire accident on the Rajammal Fireworks premises in Chippiparai has risen to 9, after the body of a worker, identified as K. Gurusamy, 45, of Mukuttumalai in Thoothukudi district, was found near the accident spot on Saturday.
The police said he was thrown some 100 metres away in the impact of the explosion, and his body parts were found lying strewn on a field. With this, the accident has claimed the lives of seven women and two men.
Following post-mortem, the relatives of the deceased refused to collect the bodies and staged a demonstration. They said the employer had not given them compensation. Normally, in such circumstances, the employer would give ₹5.5 lakh to the kin of each victim, they said and urged officials to intervene.
₹1 lakh solatium
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday announced a solatium of ₹1 lakh each to the family members of 9 persons who were killed in a fire accident at a cracker unit in Chippiparai village in Virudhunagar district on Friday.
Responding to DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu’s claim that the accident had occurred because the unit had been manufacturing high-end crackers though its owners had obtained permission for manufacturing only ordinary ones, the Chief Minister said action would be taken if that was found to be true.
He said those who were severely injured in the accident would get ₹50,000 and those with ordinary injuries would get ₹25,000.
