Tamil Nadu cracker factory explosion kills nine people

Zee Media Bureau/Himanshu Kapoor

Kumbakonam: At least nine people died and up to five suffered burns on Friday after a fire broke out at a cracker factory in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. According to reports, the workers were inside the factory when the fire started after the crackers exploded suddenly. The fire has been doused now and those who were injured have been rushed to nearby hospital, police said. It is yet to be ascertained what was the cause of the fire. Earlier this year, 54 persons were charred to death and 50 others injured when a devastating blaze swept through a cracker factory complex at nearby Mudhalipatti in Tamil Nadu. It was one of the worst fire tragedies in the state. The witnesses had said that the explosions could be heard across more than two square km from the factory.