17 feared dead after fire breaks out at fireworks factory in Trichy

Five workers were charred to death and several injured in an accidental explosion at a fireworks factory near Trichy in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Chennai. Nov 30: At least 17 people are feared dead and several injured after fire broke out on Thursday morning following a blast at an explosives factory near Tiruchirappalli gutting two floors of the building.

According to a factory official, around 16 persons were working trapped inside at the time of the accident.

"An explosion was heard at Vetrivel Explosives near Tiruchirappalli (333 km from Chennai) in the morning. The ground and first floors have collapsed," said G. Sathyanarayanan, deputy director-in-charge of Fire and Rescue services (central region), Tamil Nadu.

"The fire is under control, but smoke was still emanating, which is being tackled," Sathyanarayanan said.

Around 25 fire service personnel were at the accident site. Three fire tenders were pressed into service. "Once the debris are cleared, we would know about the number of fatalities, if any," he said.

OneIndia News (with IANS inputs)