Late Sunday night, a fireworks mishap at a temple in the Kasaragod district of Kerala left over 150 people hurt, 10 of them critically. As guests assembled on the temple grounds fled for their lives, shocking images taken from the scene showed crackers starting a huge fire and a cloud of smoke.
In the north Malabar region, the tragedy happened near Anjootambalam Veererkavu during the celebration at the start of the holiday season.
According to witnesses, a firecracker display was going on at around midnight, and it’s possible that one of the crackers fell into the adjoining shed that held other crackers. Images showed the gathering in shock as the shed burst into enormous smoke and flames.
Priyesh was at the temple with his cousins for the festival. “It started with a loud blast, and then we saw a ball of fire. Soon, there was panic. There was so much crowd. Many people were standing by the side of the shed and since there were too many people, they couldn’t move around freely. We immediately started rushing people to nearby hospitals,” he said, according to a Manorama Online report.
Sreerag, associated with the temple, came from Bengaluru to attend the festival. He was managing the crowd when he heard the explosion. “Usually we expect a big crowd on the festival’s second day. On Monday night, the crowd was unusually high.”
“Chinese crackers were stored in the shed. A spark from a flower cracker may have fallen into the shed, igniting the crackers,” he said.
Several local residents have told Manorama that the storehouse was near the place where crackers were burst. Panchayat representatives have blamed a lack of vigil. “Crackers are not burst on a large scale here. It is a small event. However, there should have been more precaution regarding the distance between the shed and the place where crackers were burst,” local ward member E Shajeer said, Manorama Online reported.
Kasaragod collector Inbasekar K said crackers should be stored at least 100 m from where crackers burst but here the distance was only a few feet away.
The president and secretary of the temple committee have been taken into police custody.
The temple authorities have said they had stored low-intensity firecrackers worth about ₹ 28,000 in a temporary store covered by a tin shed. This cache exploded, leading to the tragedy.
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Source: NDTV
