Overview
- A powerful blast tore through an unauthorised fireworks shed near Sengamalpatti, Sivakasi, after operations that sources say began in the early hours and rescue teams recovered three dead people by Monday.
- Rescue crews used drones and pumped a nearby irrigation well while searching for missing workers, and scattered body parts recovered at the site have been sent for DNA testing to confirm identities.
- Police say the unit was run stealthily from farmland, with owners reportedly using an agricultural shed and tapping free electricity meant for irrigation to power illegal manufacture.
- The explosion heavily damaged nearby property, completely charred one worker, blew another apart, and hurled van parts about 20 metres from the site according to firefighters and residents.
- Authorities have registered a criminal case and opened a detailed probe, and local officials have ordered stepped-up inspections of fireworks units in Virudhunagar district before the festival season.