Three sheds were destroyed in a powerful blast that ripped through a private fireworks unit at Naranapuram, near here in Virudhunagar district on Saturday.
Fire and Rescue Services personnel said the explosion occurred around 6.15 a.m. Though the cause was not known initially, senior officials said the finished fancy varieties of fireworks were stocked in the sheds and that could have triggered the explosion.
Fortunately there were no casualties as workers reported for duty only around 8 a.m. The fire tenders took about an hour to put out the fire. There were 42 sheds on the premises, which was in the name of Rajaram, 47, of Sivakasi and he operated the factory in the name of Maheshwari Fireworks and had licence from the PESO authorities.