In a shocking development, at least seven people have died and two other were injured after the firecracker factory in Kattumannarkoil, Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu had exploded on Friday. 

The injured people have been admitted to the local government hospital for further treatment. The district police department had said that the exact cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained and it has launched an investigation on the explosion of the firecracker factory, that has been functioning for the last thirty years.  

According to the reports, the explosion had killed five women and injured four other women on the spot. The injured women had moved to the medical centers. However, of the four injured women, two had succumbed to the injuries at the hospital, taking the death toll to seven. All the deceased were women and some reports suggest that the owner of the factory, who was also an woman, had also died at the blast.  

Following the blast, the local police and firefighters had rushed to the post and executed the rescue operations. The visuals from the spot had shown there has been a destruction in the spot after the blast had collapsed the temporary shelter and the rescue operations had examined the rubble. 

The reports say that the female workers had come to the factory on Friday morning to perform a pooja before they begin their work of manufacturing crackers for Diwali. Following the blast, which has been called as an inadvertent explosion, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had inquired about the accident to the local authorities over the phone. 

The Chief Minister expressed condolences for the deceased and announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the victims.