Cracker unit mishap: 2 die, owner held

Two men were killed and two others sustained injuries in a mishap at a firecracker unit in Virudhunagar district and Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday ordered a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased workers. The two workers were killed on Saturday night due to an accidental explosion and blaze at a fireworks manufacturing facility in Nattarmangalam village of Virudhunagar district. Conveying his condolences and expressing grief, Stalin ordered an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the two workers, Arumugam and Kubendran, who were killed in the mishap, an official release here said. Also, Stalin announced an assistance of Rs 1 lakh to one of the two workers, Deivendiran, who sustained severe injuries. Police arrested C Selvakumar (38) of Viswanatham, the owner of the cracker unit.