An accident in a firecracker factory in the Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu has claimed nine lives. Six others sustained grievous injuries. The accident took place at the Yaazh FireWorks, owned by Rajendran, Vetriyur village near Thirumanur in Ariyalur on October 9, Monday.
A sudden explosion around 10 a.m. took the workers by surprise, when they were having their breakfast before commencing the day’s work. They were all trapped inside the factory and could not escape, as fire spread thick and fast.
Fire and Rescue Service personnel from Ariyalur, Sendhurai, Thiruvaiyaaru, and Jeyangondam were rushed to the spot, and rescue operations were underway with the help of residents from the neighbouring villages, when last reports came in.
The mortal remains of those who perished were sent to the Ariyalur Government College Hospital for post-mortem while the critically injured workers were sent to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital for further treatment.
What caused the accident and how many were in their morning shift this morning are yet to be known.
Ariyalur district collector J Anne Mary Swarna and Superintendent of Police K Feroze Khan Abdullah too rushed to the spot to monitor the rescue operations. As per reports, primary investigations revealed that the factory was established a decade ago by Rajendran.
The license was obtained in his name. However, it was managed by his son-in-law Arun Kumar. It was also revealed that the factory was situated very next to a private school and amid agricultural land and that no mandatory safety measures were in place.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the family members who lost their loved ones in the accident. Rs 1 lakh was announced for those who are critically wounded while Rs 50 thousand will be provided to the other injured
It is to be noted that it is the second such accident in a week to occur in a firecracker unit. Earlier, on October 7, an accident in a godown at Attibele, near the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border killed 14 workers.