20 killed in a fire at a fireworks factory in southern India

At least 20 people were killed and six others injured when a fire broke out Sunday at a fireworks factory in southern India, police said.

Local police chief N. Shrinatha told Agence France-Presse that “20 people were confirmed dead” following the accident that occurred at a licensed factory in the Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu state.

He added that rescue teams are still working at the accident site, noting that the cause of the fire is still unknown.

In a social media post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his “condolences to those who lost their loved ones” in this “extremely painful” incident.

For his part, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, in a post on the X platform, described the deaths as “tragic,” expressing his “deep sadness.”