Fire fighters put out the fire that broke out in a cracker shop near Amballur village in Vaniyambadi on February 12, 2023. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A 45-year-old man and his 12-year-old son died due to burn injuries, and two workers were injured after fire broke out in his cracker shop near Amballur village in Vaniyambadi on Sunday.
Police said R. Kumar, a resident of Natrampalli town, onwed a firecracker shop in the village for the past few years. He opened the shop along with his son, K. Dayalamurthy (12), on Sunday.
His workers in the shop, R. Velayudham (57) and S. Raman (36), both residents of Ambur taluk, were arranging the firecrackers in the shop.
When a few customers asked for some crackers, Mr. Kumar and his son went inside the shop where suddenly crackers burst into flames and spread to other parts of the shop.
R. Kumar, 45, and K. Dayalamurthy, 12. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The two victims suffered severe burns and died. The actual cause of the incident is being investigated,” K. Balakrishnan, Superintendent of Police (SP), Tirupattur, told The Hindu.
Initial investigation revealed that the incident happened around noon on Sunday. Residents and passersby immediately alerted the local police and firefighters. As the fire was intense, the residents found it difficult to douse the fire that spread to adjacent places due to the huge volume of crackers in the shop.
A team of firefighters with a fire tender from Vaniyambadi Station Fire Office put out the fire after an hour of struggle.
Injured persons were shifted to the Government Taluk Hospital in Vaniyambadi. Bodies of the victims were sent to the government hospital in Vaniyambadi town for post-mortem.
A case has been filed by Ambalur police. Based on the alert, Tirupattur Collector, D. Bhaskara Pandian and Tirupattur Superintendent of Police, K. Balakrishnan visited the injured persons at the hospital. Further investigation is on, police said.