Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu): At least three workers were killed in an explosion at a stone quarry here on Wednesday, and in the impact, their body parts got strewn around, with some buried in debris, police said.
The explosion, which led to clouds of smoke and sand in the quarry, was felt by people living in nearby areas. They staged a protest seeking the closure of the quarry. Visuals of the blast captured by a nearby CCTV camera was widely shared on social media.
Virudhunagar Police Superintendent K Feroze Khan Abdullah said the blast occurred when workers unloaded explosives from a vehicle in order to store them on the premises of the stone quarry. Some body parts have been strewn around and also buried in debris, he said answering a question.
The explosion appeared to be "due to mishandling" of explosives, the official said, adding that a case has been registered and an investigation is on. "They have explosives licence, it is a licensed premises and a person linked to the facility is being questioned in connection with the explosion," he said.
The deceased have been identified as 47-year-old Kandasamy, 25-year-old Periadurai and 60-year-old Guruswamy. "We are probing the matter and a case under relevant sections of the IPC will registered in this regard," another senior police official said.
