Personnel of the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services spraying water at the site of the explosion near Sengamalapatti in Sivakasi on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: G. Moorthy
Two workers were killed and another suffered 75% burns in an explosion at an illegal fireworks unit functioning out of a shed near Sengamalapatti in Sivakasi on Sunday (July 26, 2026). A search is under way for two persons, who, according to their relatives, also worked at the unit.
The police identified one of the deceased as R. Ramprakash, 36, of Sengamalapatti. The other victim is yet to be identified. The injured person was identified as R. Ramachandran, 38, Ramprakash’s elder brother. He has been admitted to the Virudhunagar Government Medical College hospital and is in a critical condition. Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Sivakasi, led by Station Officer T. Seenivasan, rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control after a lengthy operation.
A van that was parked near the shed was gutted, while a two-wheeler was partially burnt in the blaze.
White fumes could be seen several kilometres from the shed after a loud blast was heard around 8.30 a.m. Parts of the van were found some 20 metres from the site of the explosion. While one worker was completely charred inside the shed, the other was blown to pieces, according to the firemen. The window panes of two houses in the vicinity of the shed were shattered during the explosion.
Neighbours claimed that they had been unaware that an illegal fireworks manufacturing unit was operating in the area. “We have seen those in the shed running a nursery and also water being fetched by vans from a nearby irrigation well. We never suspected that they had been making firecrackers illegally,” said Muthulakshmi, a 51-year-old resident of the locality.
Virudhunagar MLA P. Selvam rushed to the spot and oversaw and rescue operations. He said the Sivakasi East police had uncovered 10 similar illegal fireworks manufacturing units in the last few weeks. “With Deepavali only a few months away, I have asked Gautam Goyal, Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police, to intensify checks at fireworks industry to prevent such accidents,” Mr. Selvam said.
Meanwhile, the police said Ramprakash and Ramachandran, who owned the farmland and the irrigation well, had set up the fireworks manufacturing unit stealthily. “The workers had started operations around 3 a.m. They had used the free electricity meant for agriculture to power the shed,” the police officer said.
As some people complained that their relatives, who were employed at the unit, were missing, the firemen used a drone to search nearby areas, including farmlands, in an effort to locate them. Besides, efforts were under way to pump water from a nearby well to check whether the missing workers could have been thrown into it by the blast. The Sivakasi East police have begun an investigation.
Fire at Pernaickenpatti
Meanwhile, a fire broke out at a licensed fireworks unit at Pernaickenpatti near Sivakasi. This was reported within an hour of the explosion at the other unit. However, being a Sunday, no workers were at the Jai Vinayaka Sparklers unit where the fire broke out.
The blaze destroyed boxes and other packing materials. It was put out by firemen from the Sivakasi fire station. A short circuit is suspected to have caused the fire.
Published – July 26, 2026 11:07 pm IST
