Virudhunagar firecracker blast death toll rises to 25

The death toll in the Virudhunagar firecracker unit blast has reached 25, with the police and relatives struggling to identify the severely charred bodies of the deceased.

Identification crisis deepens

The situation has become such that most bodies have been identified with the jewellery the victims were wearing. Police said that even the relatives of the victims have not claimed the bodies, as they are unsure about identification.

“Bodies were so badly charred that we were able to identify mostly with jewellery that the victims were wearing,” a police official. He further stated that the factory owner is absconding.

The accident occurred at the Vanaja firecracker unit, owned by Muthumanickam, which operates within the Vachakarapatti police station limits.

The related firecracker unit is reportedly licensed by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur.

Many critically injured

Post-mortem findings have confirmed that all 25 victims, 22 women and three men, died in the blast, a police official said. Several of the injured remain in critical condition.

Also Read: TN: 1 dead, 5 injured in Virudhunagar firecracker blast

Eight workers, most of them women, have suffered burns covering nearly 60 per cent of their bodies. In contrast, 12 others, including eight police personnel and four firefighters, were hurt in a second explosion that struck during rescue work on Sunday evening.

Efforts at the site dragged on amid constant danger, with unexploded material going off intermittently and forcing teams to pull back at intervals. At around 7.20 pm, another blast was triggered when an earthmover attempted to clear debris, injuring multiple responders, among them a revenue official.

Anger grows, protests planned

Close to 1,000 people, including grieving families and residents of neighbouring villages, are reportedly planning a road blockade, demanding that the factory owner be arrested.

Eyewitness accounts point to the scale of the explosion. Ranganathan, a resident of nearby Seervaikarampatti, recalled hearing a deafening sound followed by “thick black smoke” rising into the sky. “Nothing was recognisable. We saw bodies being loaded four at a time into vehicles,” he said.

Also Read: 20 killed in firecracker factory blast in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar

A large number of those killed are believed to be from the same village, with locals claiming at least 20 victims belonged to Seervaikarampatti. Among them was 46-year-old Indrani, who had worked at the unit for 25 years.

Her daughter Madhubala described the family’s situation in stark terms: “My mother was the sole breadwinner. My father is disabled and stays home. I have an MSc degree, but I’m working at a petrol bunk to help out, and we haven't even paid my brother's school fees yet.”

Violations flagged, probe ordered

District Collector V P Jeyaseelan said the unit had been operating on a day when work was not permitted. Preliminary findings indicate the blast began in a chemical mixing shed where around 40 workers were present, far exceeding the usual limit. “Had these workers followed primary safety norms, the toll could have been minimal,” a senior official said.

The explosion occurred around 3.15 pm on Sunday. Though the fireworks industry remains shut that day, more than 100 workers were reportedly engaged at the facility.

Chief Minister M K Stalin has ordered a high-level inquiry and asked ministers to supervise relief measures. The incident comes days after a similar blast in Vembakottai that killed four people, adding urgency to calls for stricter oversight in the region’s firecracker units.

(With agency inputs)