Firecracker factory blaze kills 20 in Tamil Nadu
Afp, Madurai
At least 20 people were killed and 15 others injured in a blaze at a fireworks factory yesterday in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, police said. The fire broke out at the Vadivel fireworks factory in the town of Sivakasi, police said, adding that the cause of the blaze was unknown. All the victims were factory workers. "The mishap happened in the afternoon when luckily most of the workers were away from the site for lunch. Otherwise, the casualties might have been higher," police superintendent S. Jeyachandran said. He said at least five bodies had been recovered from the site. Residents of the area said the rescue operations were hamstrung by a shortage of fire engines and police, with many on duty for the inauguration of a landmark shipping route by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the nearby town of Madurai. Sivakasi, 440km south of the state capital Chennai, is home to 85 percent of the country's fireworks industry. The 30-square kilometre radius (11.5 square mile) around the small town generates business worth 30 billion rupees (697 million dollars) from industries such as printing, fireworks and matches, estimates say.
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