A fire broke out at a fireworks factory in southern India on Friday, killing six workers and the owner, all women, while critically injuring another two, police confirmed.

The tragedy occurred in a village in Tamil Nadu state's Cuddalore district after an explosion in a one-room hall, where the people were at work, district police chief Sree Abhinav said.

Police said they were investigating whether the factory was using permitted explosives and other materials.

Recent resumption of work

The local government in Tamil Nadu has only recently allowed factories to resume work with their full workforce, following coronavirus-related restrictions.

As a result of certain lockdown measures implemented because of the pandemic, the fireworks industry missed its peak manufacturing season prior to Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Read more: Diwali fireworks worsen Delhi's hazardous air pollution

Firework factories in India are frequently found to flout safety regulations and accidental explosions are not unheard of.

Indeed, the fire in Tamil Nadu comes after asimilar blast in northern India in September 2019 resulted in 23 fatalities. That incident occurred after a building collapsed from a blast at a fireworks plant in Batala, a town in Punjab state.

jsi/rc (AP, dpa)