Chennai: At least 15 people have died and many were injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district, around 500 kilometres from Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the blast, NDTV reported here Friday.
“Fire at a firecracker factory in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu is saddening. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover soon. Authorities are working on the ground to assist those affected,” he tweeted.
Fire at a firecracker factory in Virudhunagar is saddening. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover soon.
The explosion took place at around 1.30 pm today.
An officer from the local fire department told NDTV: “Friction during mixing of chemicals appears to have caused the explosion”.
Ten fire-fighting units from various locations were rushed to the spot to douse the fire, news agency PTI reported.
Chief Minister E Palaniswami has announced a compensation of ₹ 3 lakh for the families of those who died in the blast and ₹ 1 lakh for the severely injured.
The Centre has announced ₹ 2 lakh for the families of the victims and ₹ 50,000 for those injured.
“An ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh each has been approved from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to a fire in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu. ₹ 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured,” a tweet from the PMO account read.
