Thirty-two people were killed in a firecracker shop explosion in a village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, The Indo-Asian News Service said on Saturday.

Most of the killed were shop workers and customers who could not escape through the narrow exit, the report quoted police as saying.

The incident took place on the eve of the Hindu festival of lights, or Diwali in the Pallipatu village in Thiruvallur district, about 90 km from Chennai. It took two firetenders to put out the fire, said the report.

The cracker shop was functioning out of a godown located behind a rice mill. The tragedy took place when a large number of people had gathered for last minute frenzied shopping.

Police said suddenly a fire broke out among the crackers and enveloped the whole shop setting off powerful explosions.

The narrow godown entrance made it difficult for people to escape as well as for the fire service personnel to carry out rescue operations.