More than 150 people have been seriously injured and are in critical condition in a temple near Kerala’s Neeleswaram. The incident that took place on Monday on midnight at Anjootambalam Veererkavu during the celebration of the beginning of the festive season in the north Malabar region. Visuals showed crackers triggering, huge smoke engulfing the premises after the devastating fire that broke out.
A video has gone viral showing the store of fireworks catching fire.
The injured were admitted to various hospitals in Kasargod, Kannu and Mangalore.
According to temple authorities, the firecrackers of low-intensity worth about ₹ 28,000 were stored inside a temporary store covered by a tin shed in the temple premises. The entire cache exploded.
However, the visitors present during the accident said that the temple should have taken more precaution especially between the shed where the crackers were stored and the place where they were burnt. Well, if there was any lacuna on the part of the temple authorities or it was a case of accident will be clear during the probe.
An accident like this just a few days before the Diwali, festival of lights, has naturally shocked the locals and many of them who were an eyewitness to the entire incident are in a state of trauma.
