A 41-year-old woman was killed and another was grievously injured in a sudden explosion at a licensed cracker godown in Chinna Anaicut village of Vellore district on Wednesday (October 21, 2026).

The police said the deceased was identified as R. Gayathri, 41, a resident of Kottaiyur village. U. Sangeetha, 45, a resident of Chinna Anaicut, was injured in the blast.

The explosion occured at a building where crackers were stacked. Two workers were working inside the building when the explosion occured. The building was razed to the ground.

The police said that the godown had a huge stock of crackers, ahead of Deepavali. The godown owner S. Hariprasad, 35, who was outside the facility, escaped with minor injuries. The cause of the explosion is yet to be ascertained, the police said.

Collector P.S. Leela Alex and Superintendent of Police N.U. Sivaraman visited the spot. The incident occurred around 10.30 a.m.

Residents rescued the injured worker, Sangeetha. They also alerted Anaicut police and firefighters, who rushed to the spot to douse the fire. Sangeetha was admitted to Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore, where doctors said that her condition is critical.

A case was registered. Special teams were formed to nab Hariprasad, who fled the spot after the incident. A probe is under way.