2 die, two injured in Salem cracker blast during funeral

COIMBATORE: Two persons succumbed to injuries in a cracker blast without responding to treatment in Salem on Sunday night.

Crackers were fired at the funeral ceremony of a nonagenarian on September 6, a day after his death.

“Before commencing the funeral procession, family members fired crackers, which unfortunately fell on a sack stocked with crackers. As it triggered a fire, the entire stock of crackers started to burst forcing everyone to run helter-skelter for safety," police said.

In the cracker mishap, four persons identified as Selvaraj (42), Dhanabal (35), Ravi (28), all hailing from the same neighbourhood and Chellammal (60) from ‘Uthukulikadu’ suffered severe burns, while few others escaped with simple burns.

All the four persons were admitted to Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Hospital in Shevapet in Salem. However, Chellammal and Selvaraj died without responding to treatment on Sunday night, while two others, Dhanabal and Ravi continue to be under treatment in a serious condition. The police have registered a case and further inquiries are on.

This is the second incident of a cracker explosion in Salem, this month. On September 4, a 50-year-old man died and two others suffered injuries in a cracker blast at a firecracker manufacturing unit in Kuppanur. The trio was unloading crackers in the godown nearby their manufacturing unit, when a box containing crackers fell off triggering a blast.