Firecracker blast in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi: Toll rises to 8

Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu), May 9 (PTI) The toll in a blaze at a fireworks-manufacturing unit in Sivakasi on Thursday rose to eight, with one more worker succumbing to his burns, police said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who expressed condolences over the incident, directed the district authorities to provide appropriate medical care to the injured and save lives.

Eight workers, including five women and three men, were killed in the accident at a fireworks-manufacturing unit near Sengamalapatti in Sivakasi in the district. Seven rooms where the firecrackers were stocked were completely gutted, police said.

Police and fire service personnel rushed the injured to the government hospital in Sivakasi. A senior police official said the cause of the fire was being ascertained and added that the unit is a licenced one.

Expressing grief over the death of the five women and three men in the explosion, Chief Minister Stalin said that immediately after receiving information about the accident, he directed the district collector to promptly launch a rescue operation.

It was learnt that more than 10 persons were injured and they required medical attention, he said. "I have directed the officials to ensure appropriate life-saving treatment for the injured," Stalin said in a release here.

The state government will extend relief to the affected families after obtaining due consent from the Election Commission (as the Model Code of Conduct is in force till June 4), he said, and extended his deepest condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families. PTI