The ruins of the waste plastic segregation unit on Avadi Main Road in Kaduvetti, Thiruverkadu resembled a war zone on Thursday morning after the fire. Four workers sleeping in a room inside had been charred beyond recognition in the early morning blaze.
The facility, run on a rented premises by businessman Immanuel (39) of Sundaracholapuram area in Kaduvetti, employed over 30 workers to segregate used plastic, rubber products and waste paper. The separated waste was then sent through a grinding process for recycling. Five men, including the four victims — Sarath Kumar (26) from Kancheepuram, S. Raghu Kumar (26) from Tiruchendur, Amar alias Pradha (26) and Raja alias Janantha (25), both from Odisha, lived in the factory.
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“The men often spent the night in a bigger room on the premises of the unit. But on Wednesday night, they decided to sleep in the 80 sq.-ft-storeroom to avoid mosquitoes. It is suspected that the men might have burnt waste paper and plastic as mosquito repellent which could have caused the fire,” said an officer.
The fire was doused around 5 a.m. by over 40 firefighters battling with 15 tenders and water lorries. The owner was arrested
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