PTI

Villupuram, Apr 7: At least twenty people were killed and 18 injured, some seriously, when a car believed to be carrying "some explosive substance" blew up at Senthur village near Villupuram on Saturday, police said.

The injured were rushed to a government hospital in Tindivanam.

Police said people noticed smoke emanating from a car parked on the national highway while its three occupants were making a futile attempt to douse the fire.

They abandoned the car before it exploded, killing 10 people instantly. Ten others succumbed to injuries in hospital, police said.

Police have launched a search to trace the three persons who were in the car.

The injured and those killed were picking tamarind from a tree. The explosion was so intense that 40 nearby houses were damaged by it.

Police officials said they suspected the car might have been carrying some explosive substance. Pointing to the extent of damage, they said this might be due to some "strong explosive materials".

PMK founder S Ramadoss, who visited the spot, told reporters that the state government should pay relief of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and reconstruct the damaged houses.

There have been several seizures of explosives and components used in bombs in recent weeks in Tamil Nadu and in the waters off the state's coast. Officials believe these materials were being smuggled to the LTTE in Sri Lanka.