Five charred to death in match factory explosion

Chennai, Feb 27 (UNI) Five people were charred to death and two sustained severe burns following an explosion in a match factory at Bhuvaneswaripet near Gudiyattam in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu today.

Reports received here said the deceased were employees of the match factory owned by Kannika Match Industries.

They were identified as Rathinam (54), Thangavel (50), Govindasamy (45), Gajendran (50) and Balaji (18), all hailing from nearby villages.

The injured were admitted to the Gudiyattam Government Hospital.

The employees, working in the first shift, began their routine work near a machine which affixes chemicals to the tip of matchsticks, when fire broke out, engulfing the whole unit.

The fire broke out due to friction caused while handling the chemicals.

Fire service personnel from Gudiyattam, Peranampattu, Ambur and Katpadi battled for more than an hour to bring the fire under control.

UNI XR/GV VV AKJ KN1551