Sivakasi: Fireworks unit blast kills 4

SIVAKASI: Four workers were killed on the spot and two others injured in an explosion at a cracker manufacturing unit near Sivakasi on Wednesday.

A private cracker unit at Chokkalingapuram, 10 km from Sivakasi, has been manufacturing fireworks for the past one month. On Wednesday morning, when the workers were busy slicing sheets dipped in chemicals, an explosion, reportedly caused by friction, took place in the unit.

Murugesan (65), Sankaralingam (50), Sundararajan (55) of Vadiyur, and Marimuthu (70) of Sadanandapuram, who were engaged in the task were killed on the spot. A JCB machine had to be used to remove the body of two of the workers buried under the debris.

Two other workers Dharmar (60) and Mariappan (60) of Vadiyur, were critically injured and were admitted to the Sivakasi Government Hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Madurai.

Sivakasi East police registered a case. Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police Najmal Hoda and fire service officer Radhakrishnan visited the spot.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa granted a solatium of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the victims and Rs 25,000 each to the two injured.