2 killed as cracker-laden truck catches fire, runs amok in TN

Two persons were charred to death and three shops gutted when two trucks, laden with crackers and matchboxes, caught fire and one of the them rammed into the shops at Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu on Thursday night.

According to Madurai range Deputy Inspector General of Police M Ganesan, a truck caught fire when it came into contact with a live wire. Its driver jumped out of the vehicle to save himself, and the truck dashed against another lorry and then rammed into nearby shops.

Following this, a nearby furniture shop, a litho printing press and a chemical shop were gutted, killing a retired block development officer and a roadside lottery vendor.

The entire area plunged into darkness following a power failure.

UNI