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 Veerekavu during the celebration of 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 disbelief as the shed burst into enormous smoke and flames. For the event, Priyesh and his cousins were at the temple. Local ward member E Shajeer stated, “There should have been more caution regarding the distance between the shed and the place where crackers were burst.
According to Inbasekar K, a collector from Kasaragod, crackers had to be kept at least 100 meters away from the point at which they exploded. Two temple committee office bearers have been arrested by the police. Eight members of the temple committee have been charged with organizing the fireworks display without authorization and in violation of the rules. According to the FIR, the fireworks storage area caught fire as a result of the negligent display.