Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed his condolences and announced a solatium of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured person.
Conservancy workers of Chennai corporation told reporters about the high risk of late-night work on the road connecting East Coast Road as vehicles tend to pass the area at high speed.
While Tamil Nadu maintained top position in the number of accidents on national highways for the fifth continuous year, Chennai topped the category of million-plus cities where the number of accidents dropped.
The police suspect that improper handling of chemicals by inexperienced workers might have triggered the explosion at the firecracker unit in Viragalur village in Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district.
At least 8 persons were killed and many injured when the tourist bus they were travelling in fell into a gorge in this hilly district on Saturday, police said.