Investigating officers attributed mishandling of explosives at warehouse as prime reason
Quarry blast kills 3 in Virudhunagar
MADURAI: The International Labour Day turned out to be tragic for three quarry labourers, who were killed in a powerful blast in a warehouse at a stone quarry in Virudhunagar district on Wednesday.
The huge explosion at 8.40 am shook the quarry located in Kadambankulam village near Aviyur of Kariapatti taluk. Explosive material used for blasting rocks kept in the warehouse went off accidentally. The blast ripped apart the bodies which were later found in the wreckage of the explosion. The blast also caused damage to vehicles parked on the site.
The deceased victims were identified as Periyadurai (27) of Kadayanallur, Tenkasi district, Gurusamy (56) of Senthattiyapuram, Sivagiri taluk, Tenkasi district and Kandhasamy (47) of T Pudupatti village, Kalligudi taluk of Madurai district, sources said.
Officials from the Department of Revenue, Police, and PESO inspected the explosion site and held inquiries.
District Revenue Officer R Rajendran said the storage warehouse was operational under PESO license and the explosion could have occurred due to mishandling of explosives. “Workers should not have been engaged on the occasion of Labour Day and the godown owner should be responsible for such a violation,” he said.
Fire and rescue services personnel from Aruppukottai rushed to the spot and cleared the bodies. According to Aruppukottai SFO Rama Rajan, the station received a fire call at 10.45 am.
Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police PK Feroze Khan said the explosion occurred when the victims were engaged in offloading the explosive material from the vehicles. Friction could have fueled the explosion, he assumed. However, the exact cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained.
The warehouse can store 1,200 kg of explosive material. Based on a complaint from
Aviyur VAO, the police have filed a case against Sethu, the godown owner, who was arrested, and three others Rajkumar, Ramamurthy, and Ramji, who are absconding.
“Bomb detection and disposal squads from Madurai were engaged in clearing the explosives,” the SP said.
Angered by the fatalities, many locals took to the road at Aviyur and blocked vehicular traffic urging immediate closure of the quarry. Revenue officials then pacified them citing necessary action would be taken for the closure and the protesting group dispersed.