Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Fireworks factory fire kills 10 in India

July 21, 2009 - 9:54PM
At least 10 people were killed when a blaze destroyed a fireworks plant in southern India, the second such fire in two weeks, officials said on Tuesday.
Twenty-eight people were injured in the fire which erupted on Monday in the town of Sivakasi, India's leading fireworks manufacturing centre.
Thirteen of those hurt were in hospital with severe burns, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi told the state assembly.
The chief minister said he had ordered a probe into the fire and asked experts to review safety measures in Sivakasi, 560km south of Chennai.
The blaze came after 19 people died in a similar fireworks factory fire on July 7 in Tamil Nadu.
Ninety per cent of India's pyrotechnics originate in Sivakasi.
Some 670 privately owned units in Sivakasi produce fireworks worth seven billion rupees ($A171.66 million) a year.
Fires are frequent at firecracker factories in India due to lax safety standards.

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