Two killed in TN stone quarry blast

TRICHY: Two men died and three others suffered injuries in a blast of explosives, triggered by lightning, in a private stone quarry at Muthudayanpatti in Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as quarry manager G Arumugam, 50, and R Palanivel, 60, a worker.
On Friday, Arumugam’s father, Theerthayi, 70, died of a possible heart attack as he could not bear the loss of his son, police said.
Police said the workers drilled holes on the rocks on Wednesday and filled them with explosives to break them. They carried out blasts too. But apparently explosives remained unexploded at least in one place.
On Thursday, the manager and four other workers were taking bath in a pond in the quarry when a lightning struck. The lightning triggered the unexploded explosives and a rock was broken in the blast. Boulders that rolled from the explosion sight hit Arumugam and Palanivel, killing them on the spot.
Three workers -- identified as Shanmugam, 34, K Ganesan, 40, and K Srinivasan, 33 -- suffered injuries.
The Thirukokarnam police registered a case.