VIRUDHUNAGAR: In one of the worst fireworks unit blasts in Tamil Nadu in the past nine years, 17 people, including seven women, were killed and 35 others were injured in an accident at a unit at Achankulam near Sattur on Friday. The condition of many of the injured is said to be critical.
According to sources, the accident took place on the premises of Sri Mariamman Fireworks around 1pm when workers were engaged in filling chemicals for fancy fireworks. The blaze soon spread to other sheds in the unit. While nine people died on the spot, the fatalities kept going up with 17 deaths being reported till 8.30pm. “We have identified five men and five women. Two women are yet to be identified while the gender of three other bodies is yet to be ascertained,” collector R Kannan told TOI. Distraught families of the victims were waiting at Sattur and Sivakasi government hospitals where the bodies of the victims were kept for postmortem.
The 35 injured, including 14 women, were being treated at various hospitals in Sattur, Sivakasi and Kovilpatti. Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami has announced Rs 3 lakh relief each to the kin of the dead and Rs 1 lakh each to those injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured. Virudhunagar district is not new to fireworks tragedies with as many as 41 people perishing in a blast in 2012. Sources said several violations were identified at the cracker unit. As many as 70 people were employed at the unit which was way above the stipulated number.
DIG of Madurai range S Rajendran said initial investigation revealed that the owner of the cracker unit had illegally leased the unit to a person named Sakthivel. Five special teams have been formed to arrest them both. He said that officials from PESO, revenue department and police would organise a meeting to ascertain the violations at the unit before registering cases.
Virudhunagar district fire officer (DFO) K Ganesan said that of the 60 working sheds on the premises, 15 were completely damaged and 13 partly hit. “We got the call around 1.15 in the afternoon and 36 firefighters and officers from Sattur, Sivakasi and Vembakottai fire stations rushed to the spot. We retrieved nine bodies from the spot.
The others died at hospitals,” he said. A team from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) comprising controller of explosives K Pandey and deputy controllers of explosives Nitin Goel and Amit Goel which visited the unit said the owner had leased the working sheds to four others. “We observed many violations such as unauthorised manufacturing and excess manpower against the permitted capacity,” an official said.
Elayirampannai police have registered a case and are investigating. The DIG said that special teams comprising police and revenue officials would be formed to inspect cracker units in the district to ensure that no such units are illegally leased out.
While DMK president M K Stalin called the accident a fallout of the negligence of the AIADMK government, TNCC president K S Alalgiri attributed it to slackness on the part of the state in implementing laws. He demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. AMMK founder T T V Dhinakaran, AISMK founder R Sarathkumar, TMC president G K Vasan and PMK founder S Ramadoss also offered their condolences to the victims’ families.