Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his anguish over the loss of lives in the firecracker unit explosion that rocked Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district on Thursday.

The explosion occurred at a firecracker unit near Sivakasi that falls under the Virudhunagar district and left eight people including five women dead. Along with that 12 others were also reported to have sustained injuries.

Taking to X, the Prime Minister wrote, "Anguished by the loss of lives due to a mishap at a factory in Sivakasi. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who have been injured recover at the earliest."

The reason behind the explosion has not surfaced yet and the authorities are investigating to matter to determine the cause of the blast.

Tamil Nadu's revenue and disaster management minister KKSSR Ramachandran visited a government hospital later on Thursday to check on the people who were injured in the blast.

He enquired about their treatment and health conditions and directed the doctors to take proper care of those who were injured.