NEW DELHI — A massive blaze raged for hours at a fireworks factory in southern India, killing at least 40 workers and injuring 60 others Wednesday, police said. Some reports put the death toll at more than 50.

Flames billowing out of the factory could be seen one mile away before firefighters with about a dozen fire engines extinguished the fire more than five hours after it began, witnesses and news reports said. Photographs taken afterward showed the factory had burned to rubble and fireworks littered the ground.

The fire spread to 40 of the 60 rooms at the Om Siva Shakti fireworks factory, one of the biggest in Sivakasi town in Tamil Nadu state, police Officer P. Karupaiah said.

The Press Trust of India news agency said about 300 people were working in the factory and 52 died. The CNN-IBN television news channel said rescue workers had completed a search of the devastated building for trapped workers. Large amounts of firecrackers and raw materials were stored in the factory with Hindu festivals weeks away.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, Karupaiah said.

The region has many factories making fireworks, which are used in religious festivals and weddings across India.