Tamil Nadu: Father-son duo killed as firecrackers explode

Chennai, November 5

A father-son duo was killed in a freak accident after the local fireworks they bought for Deepawali celebrations exploded in the motorbike they were travelling. The incident occurred on Thursday night.

K.A Kalaniesan, 37, and his son Pradesh, 7, were travelling on the motorbike with two bags full of country made firecrackers bought from Ariyankuppam in Tamil Nadu. The area is famous for cheap high decibel firecrackers and the duo was travelling to Koonemideu in Villupuram district bordering Puducherry.

Police said that while they were crossing Kottakuppam village, the firecrackers in one of the bags accidentally exploded resulting in heavy explosion. Both the father and son died on the spot and their bodies were torn into pieces beyond recognition.

Three people in the nearby location were also severely injured in the blast and have been admitted to Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) for treatment.

Villupuram DIG, M. Pandian and Villupuram Superintendent of Police, N. Shreenatha visited the site of explosion and conducted an inquiry on the explosion from the local people. The sound of the blast was of high decibel, according to police.

Villupuram SHO Muruganand told IANS, “The sound of the blast was so heavy that we came running from the station and by that the bodies were thrown off and torn into pieces beyond recognition. We are conducting inquiries and are collecting more information from the local people regarding this accident.” –IANS