Cuddalore: Four people were killed and more than ten others sustained injuries in a reactor vessel blast at a pesticide manufacturing unit at Kudukadu in SIPCOT Industrial estate in Cuddalore district today.
Police sources said the deceased were three men and a woman. The blast took place at one of the reactor vessels in Crimsun Organics at around 8 am.
About 15 workers were working in the morning shift when the reactor vessel exploded with a deafening sound, trapped them inside.
Acting on information, Fire service and rescue personnel rushed to the spot retrieved the bodies, rescued those trapped in the unit and shifted them to the Cuddalore Government hospital.
Fire fighting units from Cuddalore and nearby areas rushed to the spot and put out the fire.
As a thick smoke emanated from the unit after the vessel exploded with a deafening sound, panic stricken people from nearby villages rushed to the spot.
Alleging lack of safety norms resulted in the blast, the environmental watchdog SIPCOT Area Community Environmental Monitors (SACEM) claimed that toxic chemicals were being manufactured in the industry causing environmental and health hazards.
The Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has ordered a probe into the blast.