TENKASI: A labourer died and another was severely injured in a fire that broke out at a cracker unit in Rengarajapuram near Thiruvengadam on Friday. Sources said that 40 labourers were working at the cracker unit, run by a Sivakasi-based industrialist Selvaraj.

As crackers were being made in the afternoon, a fire broke out in the unit, in which one Sevuka Pandian of Seekampatti succumbed to severe burns on the spot. Another worker — Mariappan of Ramanathapuram near Kalugumalai — was severely injured in the accident and was admitted to Government Kovilpatti Hospital. Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Sankarankovil, Kalugumalai, and Vembakottai doused the fire. The police suspect that friction and heat might have caused the fire.