Nine persons were killed and 11 injured, following a blast at a firecracker godown in Periyapettai in Krishnagiri district on Saturday morning. The owner of the godown, along with his wife and two adult children were among those killed in the accident. The blast was reportedly caused by the explosion of a cylinder at a neighbouring eatery, housed in the same building as the godown.
The blast occurred when the godown was being opened for sales, killing the entire family of the owner. The toll of seven at the time of the incident, rose nine later in the day, as two more victims succumbed at the hospital.
The owner of the godown Ravi (42), his wife Jayashree (40), his daughter Rithika (19) and son Rutheesh (21), and the owner of the adjacent eatery Rajeshwari, and two others Ibrahim Kaiyulla (21) and Imran (18) along with an unidentified woman and an unidentified man were killed.
The building that had housed five shops, was reduced to a rubble with a few feared to have been trapped underneath the cement debris.
The district administration swung into action with earth-movers and fire and rescue services to clear up the building rubble and rescue the injured.
Collector Sarayu, who monitored the disaster response on site, later said there was nothing amiss with the functioning of the godown on the commercial street. “I’ve seen the files [of the godown]. The license was issued to it after field inspections,” she said.
“The restaurant, a welding unit, another shop and the godown were in the same building, but the restaurant was not adjacent to the godown. They were separated by two other shops. A preliminary investigation shows that the cylinder blast was heard first, occurring from at the restaurant, and the fire spread later to the other shops as well as the godown. A godown is only a storage place from where sales are permitted, so it is not a manufacturing unit, Ms. Sarayu added.
Earlier, the Collector also visited the government medical college hospital and called on the injured admitted there. She also met with the bereaved relatives of the victims at the hospital.
PM Modi announces relief
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. “Deeply saddened by the tragic mishap at a cracker factory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, resulting in the loss of precious lives. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims during this extremely difficult time,” the PMO said in a tweet.
“May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000: PM @narendramodi,” the tweet said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a visit to Tamil Nadu, too, condoled the death of eight persons.
Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said he was deeply saddened by the loss of valuable lives in the mishap. “My prayers and thoughts are with the bereaved families. Wishing a speedy recovery to those injured,” the Governor said on Twitter.
T.N. CM extends condolences, announces solatium
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin expressed grief over the death of the nine persons and also announced a solatium of ₹3 lakh each to the families of the deceased. In a statement, he also announced a compensation of ₹1 lakh each to those who suffered injuries and are currently undergoing treatment at hospital, and ₹50,000 each for those who sustained minor injuries.
The compensation will be released from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.
The AIADMK’s general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, expressed his condolences and urged the State government to ensure that all safety norms were complied with.
The AMMK general secretary, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, and the AIADMK’s former interim general secretary, V.K. Sasikala, condoled the deaths.
Mr. Stalin said he had sent Tamil Nadu Minister for Food and Civil Supplies R. Sakkarapani to the spot to oversee the relief measures and has also instructed that special care be provided to those who are undergoing treatment at the hospital.
