The death toll in Tamil Nadu firecracker accidents on Tuesday has climbed to 14 people, including 12 women, officials said.
According to the police, the first incident occurred in Rengapalayam where 50 workers were employed while the other took place at Kichanayakanpatti near Sivakasi in Villpuram district.
Meanwhile, the police on Tuesday night arrested three people, including Sundaramoorthy, the owner of Kanishkar fireworks at Rengapalayam, in connection with the incident.
According to the police, over 50 workers were busily engaged in work at Kanishkar fireworks at Rengapalayam in the wake of the upcoming Deepavali festival.
“At Rengapalayam, the Kanishkar fireworks unit had a shop closer to the factory and when the workers were testing the firecrackers a spark led to a major explosion killing at least 13 people. In the other incident that took place at Aarya firecracker unit in Kichanayakanpatti, 56-year-old worker, Vembu, died while mixing chemicals,” said an officer.
After hours of rescue operation, the police, and fire and rescue service personnel managed to extinguish the flames.
The charred bodies of workers were sent to the Government Medical College Hospital in Virudhunagar for post-mortem. Three of the injured workers are being treated at the Srivilliputhur Government Hospital for treatment, officials said.
Tamil Nadu ministers C V Ganesan and Thangam Thennarasu visited the hospital and expressed their condolences to the family members of the deceased.
The ministers told reporters on Tuesday that a meeting will be convened to identify the cause of the accident occur and initiate stringent action against firework manufacturing companies that do not abide by the safety guidelines.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has announced a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for those grievously injured.
