Death Toll Mounts To 21 In Virudhunagar Factory Fire In Tamil Nadu

The death toll in the February 12 blaze that broke out in a fireworks manufacturing factory in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district has gone up to 25, the district collector said.

The Virudhunagar Police had earlier arrested one person in connection with the fire.

Earlier an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each has been approved from the Prime Minister Office's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to a fire in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar. Rs 50,000 have been approved for those who were critically injured in the incident.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami also announced ex-gratia amounts of Rs 3 lakhs each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the critically injured in the fire incident.

"More than a hundred employees work in Sakthivel owned factory. The plant is licensed to manufacture fancy crackers," said the district collector.

It took two hours for the fire department workers to douse the fire.