TUTICORIN: Four workers died in a cracker unit explosion in Thuraiyoor near Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district on Thursday. The explosion took place in one of the sheds of New Century Fireworks, a leading firecracker manufacturer.
This is the fourth major accident in firecracker units this year in which three or more lives have been lost in Virudhunagar and Tuticorin districts.
Thursday's explosion at Thuraiyoor was in a working shed with a concrete roof where fancy fireworks were being manufactured. The wall around it were razed.
The explosion took place around 2.10pm. The deceased have been identified as Jayaraj, 47, of Thottampatti, Thangavel, 43, of Kumarapuram, Kannan, 48, of Nalattinputhur and Ramar of Erachi. Their bodies have been sent to Kovilpatti government hospital for postmortem. No one was injured in the incident as many workers were out for lunch. Police registered a case against those in charge of the unit.
‘Explosion after worker took 5kg of chemical into shed’
Tuticorin district fire officer (DFO) S Kumar told TOI that a worker was seen carrying a bucket with 5kg of chemical mixtures into the shed to fill it in the fancy firecrackers.
“In the next few seconds, there was an explosion. It is suspected that he could have slipped or the bucket with chemicals could have slipped from his hand and fallen, causing friction that resulted in the blast,” Kumar said. Two of the victims were those who were in the shed and their bodies were ripped apart.
The two other victims, who were standing beside the mound wall, got stuck under the debris and di ed. Fire and rescue services personnel from the Kovilpatti fire station cleared the debris.
The unit owned by R Prabakaran of Rajeev Nagar in Kovilpatti is the company’s only fac ility in Tuticorin district.
