Chennai, July 26 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the families of the two women who died in a firecracker explosion in Sivakasi city in Virudhunagar district.

The explosion occurred on Tuesday.

Stalin in a statement on Wednesday said, "I was deeply saddened to hear that two people were killed in this accident."

The two women workers, Murugesewari and Banu were handling the explosive material in the firecracker unit at Sivakasi.

Police said that an investigation on the reason for the accident is on and further details will be provided after the investigation.

It is to be noted that Sivakasi is the fireworks capital of South India with an annual turnover of Rs 6000 crore.