Madurai: A 20-year-old college student was killed, while his friend and his friend’s mother were seriously injured when firecrackers bought for Diwali celebrations exploded inside a house near Melur in Madurai district in the early hours of Thursday. The blast was powerful enough to bring down a part of the building’s upper floor.
The incident occurred at Karungalakudi near Kottampatti, where Lokesh , 20, a catering student at a private college near Othakadai, had stored firecrackers purchased from Sivakasi with his friend Manoj , 20.
The friends had bought crackers worth several thousand rupees ahead of the festival and kept them in a separate room upstairs, according to police. The family had reportedly retired downstairs when the explosion occurred around midnight.
Lokesh, his mother Yogavani, 42, and Manoj suffered serious injuries,” said an investigating officer. “The crackers went off with a loud blast, severely damaging the house and causing part of the upper floor to collapse.
Fire and rescue services personnel from Kottampatti, assisted by local residents, rescued the injured and rushed them to Melur government hospital in a 108 ambulance. Kottampatti police registered a case and launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion, including suspicions that the stored firecrackers contained vengaya vedi (onion bombs), which explode on impact. Melur DSP Sivakumar and tahsildar Vasanth inspected the accident site.