Two people died and two others, including a 17-year-old boy, were seriously injured after a fire broke out in a firecracker manufacturing factory in Vachakarapatti village of Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, said police.
The cops identified the deceased as P Kaliraj (20) of Kanniseripudur area and K Veerakumar (50) of Mudalipatti area in Virudhunagar.
Police said, their preliminary investigation revealed that the accident occurred when workers were mixing chemicals and the friction caused the fire to spread in the factory, Thalamuthu Fireworks.
Police and fire officials were informed and soon teams reached the spot to douse the flames. The teams rushed the injured to Virudhunagar government medical college where they are undergoing treatment. While S Saravanakumar of Kanniseripudur received 90% burn injuries, S Sundaramoorthy of Inamreddiapatti received 70% burn injuries, said police.
Officials said, three working sheds inside the factory were gutted. Further investigation in the case is underway.
Meanwhile, chief minister MK Stalin announced a solatium of ₹3 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 each to the kin of those injured.