Kerala: 8 critical, over 150 injured in fireworks accident during festival near Veerarkavu Temple

More than 150 people were wounded, including eight with serious burn injuries, in a fireworks accident that resulted in a devastating blaze near Kerala’s Veerar Kavu Temple in the early hours of Tuesday.

According to a report by Mathrubhumi, the incident occurred around 12:30 am on Tuesday at Anjootambalam Veerar Kavu Temple during the celebration marking the beginning of the festive season in the north Malabar region. Children and women were among those injured.

The District Collector said those who were seriously injured had 80 per cent burns.

“The cause of the accident is being ascertained. Samples have been collected from the site. A case was lodged,” a report by PTI quoted the District Collector as saying.  

Kerala fire: How did it break? 

PTI quoted the District Collector saying that as per a preliminary probe, the fireworks storage facility and the place where the crackers were being burst were close by.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness quoted by Mathrubhumi said, the blaze broke out during the fireworks display at the Moovalamkuzhi Chamundi Theyyam festival at Nileshwar, in Kasaragod district of Kerala, when a cracker misfired and fell onto a building where explosives were stored.  

Watch: A fire accident during the "Kulichu Thottam" ritual for the Moovalamkuzhi Chamundi Theyyam in Kerala's Kasaragod district left over 150 people injured, with eight seriously hurt. Sparks from lit torches likely ignited stored firecrackers, causing a significant explosion… pic.twitter.com/EygtlSyd6i

— IANS (@ians_india) October 29, 2024

The explosion resulted in a massive fire, injuring several people, including women and children, who had congregated there to see the Theyyam performance.

‘Safety precautions not taken’

“The safety precautions were not taken. The requirement of maintaining a minimum distance of 100 meters between the two was not followed. No permission was taken either for storage of fireworks,” the District Collector further said.  

🇮🇳💥 Massive Explosion at Fireworks Storage Injures 150+ During Temple Festival in Kerala's Kasargod
pic.twitter.com/q02RVLy8EH

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 29, 2024

The injured were rushed to various hospitals in Kasargod, Kannur, and Mangaluru, PTI quoted Kerala police as saying.  

The Mathrubhumi report, quoted sources as saying the condition of five people admitted to the district hospital, Kanhangad is “very critical”.

As many as 33 people are admitted to the district hospital. As per police, 19 people have been admitted to Aishal Hospital, Kanhangad and 12 people have been undergoing treatment at Arimala Hospital.

In Sanjeevani hospital, 40 people have been admitted. Apart from this, 11 people have been admitted to Nileshwar Taluk hospital and five people were rushed to Aster MIMS hospital, Kannur.

With inputs from agencies.