Tiruchirapalli: Twenty workers were killed in a major explosion triggered by an inferno at a private explosive factory at Murungapatti village near Thuraiyur, here today. Police said the explosion occurred at Vetrivel Explosives, an ISO certified Industrial explosives manufacturer at 0730 hours. The workers were engaged in producing Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) which have high shattering capability and used in making explosives meant for digging wells and mining activities. The explosion occurred in PETN Unit two.
The concrete unit was razed down due to the impact of the explosion. The bodies of some deceased were mutilated and scattered inside the complex. Rescue teams retrieved parts of six bodies from the site, so far. The explosion was huge as it was felt in five kilometres radius. The identity of 18 deceased workers was established. The dead were T Ravindran (40), R Pradeep (23), R Rajaprakasam (30), A Seenivasan (48), Nakulan (40), P Sampath (38), R K Subramani (45), A Satheesh (23), T Karthik (31), P Anand (31), P Selva Kumar (34), M Karthik (19), V Ravichandran (34), K Murugan (30), S Ashokan (32), P Selvakumar (36), J Lawrance (43) and P Bhoopathi (25).
The Identity of two persons has not been confirmed. People residing in adjoining areas vacated their houses fearing further explosions might occur in the factory. The exact reason for the explosion could be ascertained only after technical teams from Chennai and Sivakasi inspect the spot. Police have registered a case under various sections against the owners of the factory. (UNI)
