An explosion at a fire cracker godown at the time of a department inspection injured three persons including the District Revenue Officer and a tahsildar, along with the godown manager here in Kelamangalam on Tuesday.
While the two government officials escaped with minor injuries, the manager of the firecracker godown was critically injured.
The explosion occurred around Tuesday afternoon, when a team led by DRO (land acquisition) Balaji accompanied by tahsildar Muthupandi along with the manager of the godown Srimanth opened the door to the godown that housed the chemicals for the fire crackers, here in J.Karapalli village in Venkatapuram panchayat in Kelamangalam taluk. “The cause of the explosion is yet to determined,” said Collector K.M.Sarayu.
Speaking to The Hindu, the Collector said, it was premature to comment on the cause of the explosion until the chemical samples are tested. “The building was a firecracker manufacturing unit. The chemical samples will be lifted from the site by a forensic team, and PESO will also inspect the site. Only then we’ll know the cause,” Ms.Sarayu said.
The inspection by the DRO’s team was part of the series of inspections currently underway in the district on the orders of the Collector, spawned by the last week’s explosion in another firecracker outlet in Krishnagiri killing nine persons.
On July 29, an explosion in a firecracker godown in Pazhayapettai left nine person dead and 11 others injured. The accident spawned a spate of inspections across firecracker godowns led by special tahsildars across the district, vetting the permits and the stock of firecrackers.
EOM
