Hundreds of workers escaped a major accident at a fireworks unit in Sankaralingapuram near Virudhunagar, on Friday morning. The workers were away from the accident site as they had gone for their breakfast.
Pappa Fireworks in the village is involved in the manufacturing of fancy fireworks and more than hundred workers were present on Friday. The factory that has 45 small units was buzzing with activity, as the shift started by 9am. At around 9.30am, the workers took a break to have breakfast and moved out of their units.
Suddenly, there was an explosion in the chemical room due to some reaction, resulting in two buildings razed to the ground. Upon hearing the huge explosion, the workers fled from the spot fearing for their lives. However, eight of them were said to have suffered minor injuries. The fire caused by the explosion quickly spread in the unit engulfing the adjacent buildings and fire tenders from Sivakasi and Virudhunagar rushed to the spot and doused the fire.
Police sources said that the explosion was so powerful that it brought down two buildings in the unit premises. But the workers were lucky as they were away for breakfast. "The number of causalities would have been really high if it was not a break time. We used earth movers to check for any worker, but luckily no one was trapped inside," a police official said. "Eight of the workers sustained minor injuries like bruises when they fell down while fleeing and no one suffered any burn injuries," he added.
The unit belonged to K Rajalakshmi from the locality and she had leased it to V Kothandaraman (46) from Narayanapuram near Sankaralingapuram. Amathur police have registered a case and arrested Kothandaraman.
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