At least 16 killed in fire at Indian firecracker factory - police
Several explosions at a private fireworks factory in southern India killed at least 16 workers and injured 32 others Friday, police said. Those injured in the blasts at the factory in Tamil Nadu state's Virudhunagar district were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, police officer Raj Narayanan said.
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- Agencies and A News
- Published Date: 05:55 | 12 February 2021
- Modified Date: 06:25 | 12 February 2021
At least 16 people were killed in a fire at a firecracker factory in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Friday, police said.
Raja Narayanan, a regional police official, said an investigation was underway into what caused the blaze at a factory in the village of Achankulam in the Virudhunagar district.
"Sixteen people have died and more than 30 have been hospitalized following the accident at the factory this afternoon," he said.
The Virudhunagar district is India's firecrackers capital, and hundreds of thousands of people in the region are dependent on the pyrotechnics industry for a living. Accidents are common.
At least 11 people were killed in two separate incidents in the region just before nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns were enforced in March. Fires in firecracker factories in 2009 and 2012 killed nearly 40 people each.