At least nine dead after police fire on protesters seeking closure of Indian copper smelter

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - At least nine died after police fired at protesters calling for closure of a Vedanta Resources-controlled copper smelter in South India, a senior police official told Reuters on Tuesday.

“Nine people have been confirmed dead,” said the official, Kapil Kumar Saratkar.

Scores of protesters in the port city of Thootukudi in Tamil Nadu state set vehicles on fire and threw stones at police on Tuesday, demanding that Vedanta shut the smelter because they claim it is creating environmental problems.