At least six people have died and one has been injured in an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Sattur of Virudhunagar district. The accident happened on Saturday, January 4, in Sainath Fireworks unit located in Bommaiyapuram near Sattur. According to reports, the deceased have been identified as Sivakumar (56), Kannan (54), Velmurugan (54), Kamaraj (45), Meenakshi Sundaram (40), and Nagaraj (37). Twenty-one-year-old Muhammad Sudeen has suffered a fracture in his legs.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to the Virudhunagar Medical College Hospital for an autopsy and later handed over to their families. Sudeen is admitted to a hospital in Madurai for treatment.
According to the Indian Express, Sattur station fire officer J Varadharaj had said that friction while mixing chemicals might have led to the accident. However, he added that further investigation is needed to ascertain the exact cause.
The police have registered a case, and further investigation is underway. Meanwhile, the licence of the unit has also been cancelled. Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that the families of the deceased would get Rs 4 lakh as ex-gratia and the injured would be given Rs 1 lakh.
