Five workers were killed on Thursday after an explosion at a firecracker manufacturing unit in southern Madurai district and a number of others were injured, authorities said.

Expressing grief, Chief Minister M K Stalin announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased. An official release here said that five workers were killed due to an explosion, that occurred all of a sudden, at a fireworks factory in Azhagusirai village near Tirumangalam in Madurai district.