Magazine room reduced to rubble in explosion at fireworks unit in Sivakasi

Madurai: A freak accident reduced the magazine room of a fireworks factory to rubble in Naranapuramputhur near Sivakasi early on Sunday.Sri Maheswari Fireworks’ caught fire around 12:30 am, and local residents who heard a loud noise and saw the blaze alerted the fire and rescue department. The noise was heard as far as 5 km, according to witnesses.Two fire tenders from Sivakasi rushed to the spot, and it took two hours to completely douse the fire. Luckily, there were no workers in the factory and the fire did not spread beyond the magazine room.Preliminary investigation revealed that workers who mixed chemicals for manufacturing bijilis fireworks left the mixture in the magazine room. As per standard operating procedures, the mixture should have been destroyed at the end of the day if not used fully. Over time, chemical reaction in the mixture triggered an explosion, which was amplified by other explosive chemicals inside the magazine room.The magazine rooms are protected with compound walls on all four sides, and the fire did not spread to any other processing sheds or offices of the fireworks factory. tnn