A 21-year-old man was killed in the fire explosion that occurred at a firecracker unit in Mellampatti village, Virudhunagar district. The incident took place at around 3 pm. 

The deceased has been identified as Ajit Kumar, a resident of Arunchalapuram village. Ajit was employed as a construction worker in Ravindra fireworks factory. He died on the spot. 

Subsequently, the residents of the Ottampatti village alerted the police and Fire and Rescue Department personnel. After dousing the fire, the fire personnel recovered Ajit Kumar’s body and sent it to Sattur Government Hospital for postmortem. The police investigation is underway. 

According to reports, the factory was operated by Kathiresan, a resident of Ottampatti. 

It is to be noted that it is the second such accident that happened in Virudhunagar district within a week. On February 17, 10 people were killed in Kundayiruppu. The blast had destroyed five buildings on the premises and injured at least six workers. The Alangulam police booked the owner and two others under Section 286 (Negligent conduct with respect to explosive substances), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others, 338 (Causing grievous hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others), 304 (part II) (Culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the Indian Explosives Act. 

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