Seven women killed in blast at firecracker unit in Tamil Nadu
Cuddalore (TN): Seven women, including the firecracker unit licensee and her kin were killed and two workers critically injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Kattumannarkoil here on Friday, police said.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, announced a solatium of Rs two lakh each to them.
The factory owner Gandhimathi and eight other women were allegedly involved in making country firecrackers at the unit in Kurungudi village in Kattumannarkoil when a sudden explosion ripped through the structure, killing five women, police said.
Four others who were injured were later rescued from the concrete debris by the locals and admitted to a hospital here. While two women succumbed later, the remaining two are undergoing treatment.
"The licensee and four of her kin died in the blast while two other women died at the hospital," Cuddalore District Superintendent of Police M Sree Abhinav told PTI.
"We are investigating the cause of the blast. There was no fire mishap. Probably some chemical substance like nitrate was stocked at the factory," Abhinav said.
Nitrates are common components of fertilisers and explosives. Apart from Gandhimathi, Malarkodi, Latha, Rajathi, Chitra, Rukmani and Rathinammal died in the blast.
"Hearing the news about the death of seven women in the blast is distressing. I express my heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families," Chief Minister Palaniswami said and announced a solatium of Rs two lakh each to the affected families.
He said he had directed Industries Minister M C Sampath and the District Collector to ensure appropriate treatment to the injured and also visit the grieving families and console them.
DMK President and Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil NaduAssembly M K Stalin and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam founder T T V Dhinakaran also expressed grief over the incident.
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ICSE, ISC results: Girls outperform boys, pass rate over 99%
New Delhi (PTI): The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations on Thursday announced the Class 10 and Class 12 results for 2026, with overall pass percentages of 99.18 per cent and 99.13 per cent, respectively.
A total of 2,58,721 candidates appeared for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), or Class 10, examination.
About 1,03,316 students took the Indian School Certificate (ISC), or Class 12, exam.
Girls outperformed boys in both examinations.
In ICSE, girls recorded a pass percentage of 99.46 per cent compared to 98.93 per cent for boys.
In ISC, girls achieved a 99.48 per cent pass percentage, while those of boys stood at 98.81 per cent.
Students can now access their scorecards on the official website cisce.org.
