Relatives of at least 23 workers killed in an explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Kattanarpatti in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district were waiting for DNA tests to char their bodies beyond recognition, even as forensic experts were at the site on Monday as part of the investigation into the blast.
A relative of one of the workers said that doctors told them that the bodies would be identified based on DNA tests because they could not be identified at all.
Mariselvam, who lost three members of her family, said the manufacturing unit usually remained closed on Sundays, but the high wages offered for working on Sunday prompted workers to work on that day. He added: “About 30 workers were working on the unit’s balcony, instead of two or three workers, which led to this destruction.”
The explosion occurred at the Vanaga Fireworks Veranda at around 3.30pm, where workers were handling raw materials and finishing the fireworks. At least three rooms of the unit were reduced to rubble, and neighboring buildings were flattened under the impact of the explosion. One firefighter was seriously injured in a second explosion at the factory.
Rescuers were extracting bodies from under the rubble when the unit’s three small rooms collapsed. An official said 19 women and four men were killed in the tragedy.
Four fire engines from Sivakasi and Virudhunagar were pressed into service and were able to douse the fire around 8pm.
District Police Superintendent N Shrinata said that the owner of the fireworks manufacturing unit is on the run, and they have formed special teams to track him down.
On April 16, a similar explosion in Vembakottai in Virudhunagar killed four people. Fireworks manufacturing units are a major source of income for residents of the district, located about 550 km south of Chennai.
