Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu), Feb 17 (UNI) In a tragic incident, nine labourers including five women were killed and several others grievously injured in a massive inferno that broke out in a private fireworks manufacturing factory at Muthusamypuram village in Sattur block in Virudhunagar district on Saturday.
Police said the fire broke out at Winner Fireworks Factory, this noon leading to a series of explosions, when the labourers were engaged in making fancy variety crackers.
The fire and explosions razed down four warehouses, where a huge stock of finished crackers and highly inflammable chemicals were stored.
Preliminary investigations revealed that friction while handling the chemicals was the reason for the fire tragedy.
The bodies were charred and mutilated due to the impact of the explosion, Fire tenders from Sattur, Vembakottai and Sivakasi rushed to the factory and extinguished the blaze after a couple of hours of battle.
The injured were admitted to the government hospitals at Sattur and Sivakasi.
The toll might go up as the condition of few workers was stated to be critical.
Senior police and revenue officials rushed to the factory and supervised the rescue operations.
The police have registered a case and are investigating to ascertain if there were any violations of safety norms.
