The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has called for a report on the safety measures that are in place to avert firework accidents in Sivakasi ahead of Diwali celebrations. The report has been sought from the Chief Inspector of Factories and Virudhunagar District Collector, reports The Hindu.

According to The Hindu, this comes a day after eight persons were killed in a fire which broke out near a scan centre at Sivakasi. They were killed due to asphyxiation after a fire broke out in a cracker shop on Thursday.

Thick smoke from a fire at a nearby cracker shop entered the scan centre, and six women and 2 men were killed.

The cause of the fire was said to be friction when workers were stacking up fireworks bundles onto a truck parked outside the shop on the Virudhunagar Bypass Road in the afternoon. 

The Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the media reports of the fire and has considered them as complaints. The Superintendent of Police of Virudhunagar district has been directed to inquire into the incident and submit a status report in 3 weeks.

Two persons who held the licence for the shop have been held.