There were about 250 employees working in the unit when the accident occurred and many of them are trapped in the debris. "We are uncertain about the extent of damage and casualty. We fear that more than ten persons could be dead," said a senior revenue official. Fire and rescues services as well as ambulances could not get near the cracker unit for fear of another explosion due to huge quantity of chemicals stacked.
They were unable to gain access to the accident spot for more than two hours as the two rooms are still burning and are expected to explode any time. The death toll is expected to rise as many more workers would have been trapped inside the buildings.
A few injured, who were flung away in the impact of the explosion, were being rushed to government hospital in Sivakasi and then to government hospital in Madurai. Revenue officials blamed labourers and said the accident could have occurred due to friction among the chemicals. This is one of the biggest explosions in the last few years at Sivakasi. This year, so far four explosions have occurred in various fire cracker units in Sivakasi and about five people were killed.
Police said Om Sakthi Fireworks was involved in making fancy fireworks, which are more dangerous when compared to the crackers that are intended to make loud noise rather than illuminate. The chemicals used in fancy crackers spread fast and also cause extensive damage. This was the reason for the fire to spread from one of the rooms where it originated to all the 40 rooms in the unit. While many employees working there suffered injuries, few villagers who rushed to help them were also injured in a blast and the ensuing fire.
There are about 600 major fire cracker units in Virudhunagar district while hundreds of small and minor units are functioning with about 30,000 workers.
Live Updates: Six people have been arrested for the blaze in a firecracker unit in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi town that killed 38 people, police said on Thursday. "Six people have been arrested in connection with the firecracker unit accident. The arrests include Paul Pandi who had taken the property on lease where he operated the cracker unit," a police official told IANS from Virudhunagar district, around 500 km from here where the firecracker manufacturing hub of Sivakasi lies.
The death toll in one of the biggest and deadliest fire accidents at Om Shakthi Fireworks on Wednesday at Sivakasi has increased to 38.
More than 75 people were injured in the powerful explosion that tore through one of the biggest fireworks factories in Tamil Nadu.
Edited By Cen Fox Post Team
