Sivakasi(TN) Sept 5: At least 56 persons were burnt to death and 100 injured today in a devastating blaze that raged through a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Sivakasi, the country's cracker manufacturing hub.
The toll might go up as several persons were still feared trapped under the debris, police and fire brigade said, as the fire was doused by the evening amid intermittent explosions.
Officials said the dead bodies had been accounted for from hospitals at Sattur (16), Virudhunagar (13), Sivakasi (21). Two others died on way to a hospital in Madurai.
Almost all those killed were workers, with some persons, who rushed inside the factory complex to try and rescue those trapped inside, also falling victim to the blaze, they said.
The tragedy struck when workers were engaged in mixing chemicals for fancy fireworks. The blaze gutted all 48 sheds located in the premises of Omshakthi fireworks factory, police and fire officials said.
They said the entire production had been stored in a godown against official advice.
