Indian city tense as toll rises to 13

A protester shot during demonstrations against a copper plant in southern India died of his injuries yesterday, officials said, the 13th victim killed by police fire.

A curfew remained in pockets of Tuticorin city in Tamil Nadu state where police used live ammunition to disperse protesters this week, provoking international outrage and demands for an immediate investigation.

Calls demanding the closure of the copper smelting plant owned by British mining giant Vedanta Resources had been building in recent months, with residents complaining it was polluting their city.

The resistance came to a head Tuesday when police stopped a crowd of thousands from protesting outside the factory.

Cars and buildings were set ablaze and rocks hurled at police, who responded with live fire. Eleven demonstrators were shot dead and many people injured in the melee, including 20 police.

Another protester died Wednesday when he was struck by rubber bullets in a second day of protests.

The latest victim died in hospital yesterday, two days after being injured, doctors said.

The chief minister of Tamil Nadu has ordered an inquiry but defended the actions of police, which the state's opposition leader called "mass murder".

The company has sought to renew the licence of the temporarily non-operational plant and hopes to double its production capacity.

But a state court Wednesday ordered that it cease any further construction at the new site.