India, April 19 -- Twenty people, including women workers at a private firecracker manufacturing unit, were killed and several were injured in an explosion in Kattanarpatti in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district on Sunday, police said.

"So far, we have recovered 20 bodies. The identification process is going on.. Rescue operations are still going on," a government official said.

A fire department official said about 30 workers were at the unit when the incident occurred at around 3:30 pm on Sunday.

According to PTI, the blast occurred on the front veranda of the firecracker factory, 'Vanaja' fireworks. The impact of the blast was so severe that at least three rooms were reduced to rubble, and several adjacent structures were completely ...