Eight persons were killed in two separate explosions that took place at fireworks units in Tamil Nadu's Virudhunagar district on Tuesday, police said.

Police, fire and rescue service personnel were pressed into service to extinguish the flames.

"Seven charred bodies were recovered from the sudden blast at the fireworks unit in Sivakasi and their identities are yet to be established," a senior police official told PTI.

The police suspect that they could be workers, he said.

While seven persons died in the firecracker unit in Sivakasi, a man was killed after another fire accident at the firework unit in Kammapatti village.

(With inputs from agencies)