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30 dead as flames engulf firecracker factory
Wednesday September 05, 2012 05:15:50 PM,
IANS
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Chennai: At least 30
people were killed and more than 50 injured Wednesday as flames
engulfed a fireworks factory after an explosion in Sivakasi in
Tamil Nadu, police said.
A police officer in Virudhunagar district told IANS on telephone
that the accident happened around 12.30 p.m. in one of the biggest
factories in the area.
He said nearly 40 of the 48 sheds in the sprawling warehouse had
been destroyed in the blaze.
He said nearly 50 injured people had been taken to hospitals in
Sivakasi and Virudhunagar. A medical team was treating those who
suffered minor burn injuries.
Thirteen fire tenders battled the flames while more than 25
ambulances ferried the injured to hospitals.
The police officer said thick smoke and continuing blasts in the
factory area hindered rescue efforts.
According to police, the fire from one of the sheds quickly spread
to the rest of the factory, thanks to a huge stock of raw
materials/firecrackers being readied for the upcoming festival
season.
Hours after the tragedy, a local official told journalists that
around 100 people were still trapped in the factory premises.
According to reports, only 53 workers are known to have come out
of the factory after the fire.
Ministers and district officials have rushed to the accident spot
to oversee the rescue efforts, officials said.
Relatives of the workers in the factory also reached the accident
spot.
Tamil television channels showed intermittent explosions in the
area, and thick smoke rising to the sky.
Villagers were seen carrying away the injured in their arms or in
cloth sheets in the absence of stretchers.
Police said the exact numbers inside the factory was not known.
Normally, there are 300 workers in a firecracker factory.
Sivakasi is one of the oldest and biggest firecracker
manufacturing hubs in India.
Crackers are produced in small rooms with space for not more than
for four people. The rooms have four doors so that workers can
rush out in case of any emergency.
Cracker units allegedly employ inexperienced workers during the
Diwali season in order to meet the demand, which in turn results
in such accidents.
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