As many as eleven people were killed and 36 others injured in an explosion that took place in a firecracker factory in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief on the incident saying it was "saddening".

"Fire at a firecracker factory in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu is saddening. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover soon. Authorities are working on the ground to assist those affected," he tweeted.

As per reports, the cause of the explosion is suspected to be due to friction during mixing of chemicals. A total of ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot to extinguish the fire.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister E Palaniswami has announced a compensation of ₹ 3 lakh for the families of those who died in the blast and ₹ 1 lakh for the severely injured. The Centre on the other hand announced ₹ 2 lakh for the families of the victims and ₹ 50,000 for those injured.

"An ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh each has been approved from PMNRF for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to a fire in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu. ₹ 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured," a tweet from the PMO read.