VIRUDHUNAGAR: At least four workers including three women killed and four others sustained grievous injuries in a major blast at R R Fireworks at Naranapuram village near Sattur in Virudhunagar district on Monday.
The blast took place due to mishandling of explosives materials in chemical mixing shed in violation of the Explosives rules, said K K Sundaresan, deputy chief controller of Explosives, Sivakasi, speaking to DC.
The deceased were identified as Saraswati (40), Subbuthai (40), Selvi (25) and Suriya Narayanswamy from Yelumichangkaipatti village. And four others Veer Lakshmi, Selvam, Muthumari and Muniyaraj who sustained grievous injuries, were admitted at Sivakasi Government Hospital for treatment.
The fireworks which had obtained license from the Petroleum Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Nagpur, in December 2016, was permitted to handle only five kilogram of explosives composition in a particular shed.
“But the preliminary investigation reveals the employment of at least eight workers in the particular shed, and about 50 kg of explosives composition (ten times the permitted quantity) were handled at the time of the accident,” said Sundaresan.
It is blatant violation of the Explosive rules in respect of ‘Man Limit Permitted Explosives’ as well as the usage of sheds other than approval. “The eight workers were engaged in pellet making and filling, ramming and fuse fixing simultaneously in the room,” said the official.
As per the rules, only one kind of activities was allowed in a shed mounted with wall. “We are shocked to find eight workers engaged in various works in a single room,” said the officer. The blast occurred only in the room and it did not spread to other areas in the unit. The other workers immediately escaped from the factory, said the revenue officer.
When the Fire and Rescue Service Officials along with the police removed the body from the accident site, the family members of the deceased protested demanding to pay a compensation of '5 lakh to each victim. They also told the officials that they were already suffering due to the demonetisation policy of the Central government.
Only after the revenue officials paid Rs 4.20 lakh to each victim families through factory management, they allowed to take away the body from the place.
C Saravanan, deputy chief controller of Explosives and B C Sudhu Khan inspected the mishap spot. “Presence of more than permitted explosives materials indicates of possible leasing out of the sheds,” said the officer.
The licence of the fireworks unit was suspended with immediate effort. The factory owner Ramesh Kannan is absconding. The police have registered a case and further investigations are on.
