E-Paper
1 dead, 8 seriously injured as fire breaks out in illegal Tamil Nadu firecracker unit
Among the eight injured, three were taken to the government hospital in Madurai and the remaining are being treated at the Sivakasi government hospital
A fire broke out at a small firecracker manufacturing unit functioning illegally in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district on Friday, killing one man and injuring eight others.
The incident took place around 9.15am near Sattur village. Fire services rushed to the spot and were able to put the fire out in about 15 minutes as it was a small room with a tin shed where less than a dozen people worked.
Among the eight injured, three were taken to the government hospital in Madurai and the remaining are being treated at the Sivakasi government hospital. “The three have been severely injured. Most of them have more than 40% burns,” said a senior police officer of Virudhunagar district. All the workers are adults.
The official said that the manufacture, -who is yet to be identified, had sub-leased a firecracker product to be made and packaged to this small unit. “The unit did not have a license,” the official said. “We keep insisting that safety norms have to be followed, but some, for their livelihood, take up such work from big players. We will track the manufacturer and register a case for sub-letting work to an unlicensed unit that led to the fire accident.”
For years, fire accidents have been recurring in both licensed and unlicensed units in and around Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district -- a ₹4,000-crore industry hub for firecracker manufacturing. In February this year, at least 16 people were killed and over 30 critically injured in an explosion in Sattur village at a registered firecracker factory.
