As the Deepavali festival approaches, the factory has been busy producing firecrackers for the past few days. This factory, where employed about 40 men and women.
Yesterday afternoon in Virudhunagar, the weight was weighed from the room where the chemicals were kept in the firecracker factory and the explosives were taken to another room 100 feet away. While there the ammunition powder was being shifted suddenly a terrible explosion occurred and it caught fire.
The fire then spread to nearby rooms. Out of a total of 5 rooms in the incident, 3 rooms were completely demolished. Five women working in two rooms were burnt to death on the spot. Three others, including two women, were injured and were fighting for their lives.
Upon learning about the incident, D. Kallupatti police and fire brigade rushed to the spot. Madurai Freight Police DIG Rajendran, Superintendent of Police Sujith Kumar, and officers rushed to the spot and expedited the rescue operation.
The injured were rushed to Madurai General Hospital for treatment.
After about an hour of fighting there, the fire was completely extinguished. The death toll from the firecracker factory explosion has risen to seven.
