An explosion occurred at a firecracker factory in Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu on Monday. Several lives have been lost in the incident says the reports.
The incident happened in Viragalur village in the district at a private unit and the cause of the fire was being ascertained.
Several dead bodies were carried out of the factory after the explosion took place.
The injured people were taken to a hospital nearby for emergency care. Five injured persons have been admitted to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital and have been given special medical attention.
In a statement, Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled the death of nine people and announced cash relief for their families.
Stalin said he had deputed his cabinet colleagues SS Sivasankar and CV Ganesan to expedite rescue and relief activities.
He announced Rs 3 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of the deceased, Rs one lakh to the grievously injured and Rs 50,000 to those with simple injuries.
(More details are awaited.)
