Two women and a five-year-old boy died in an explosion in an illegal firecracker unit near Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district on Monday morning, the Hindustan Times reported.

Two men who were injured have been taken to Sivakasi government hospital for treatment.

The blast took place in a house in Kalaignar Colony in Sattur, about 20 kilometres away from the firecracker manufacturing hub of Sivakasi. The house belonged to one of the injured persons, identified as 25-year-old Surya. He was involved in illegal manufacturing of firecrackers, according to The News Minute.

The blast took place around 8.30 am and firefighters from Sattur and neighbouring Vembakottai town were engaged in dousing the blaze caused by the explosion. Officials said that it was too early to ascertain the number of people involved in running this unit as they operated without a licence.

On Sunday, the National Green Tribunal directed the Tamil Nadu government to conduct a “capacity assessment” in Virudhunagar district after a blast at a firecracker factory in February killed 19 workers, PTI reported.

The assessment is meant to find out how much natural resources can be drawn from an area without the risk of degrading the environment.

“The study may include the number of units to be allowed, size of operation of such units, the quantity of material to be used, siting criteria for the location of the units, arrangement for fire management and health services,” said a bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.