Tiruchirappalli: At least 10 persons were feared killed and 15 others injured in a fire at an explosive-making unit at Murugapatti, about 40 km from here, on Thursday, police said.


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The reason for the fire was not known immediately, police said, adding, three firefighting units and 10 ambulances were pressed into service.


The fire was noticed in one of the manufacturing wings of the factory near Tiruchirappalli and it soon spread to other areas. The noise triggered panic among people in the surrounding area and waves of the blast were felt even two km away from the site, forcing officials to stop traffic on Athur road, police said.


As the area was receiving heavy rains, rescue operations could not be taken up in full swing, though the fire had been almost contained, police said.


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


There were 15 mini-units in the factory which was manufacturing explosives for deepening and widening wells in the rocky belts.


The licensed unit was working for more than 25 years, police said. 


(With Agency inputs)