Blast and a ball of fire: Midnight mishap at Kerala temple sends hundreds fleeing in panic

Kasaragod (Kerala): Hundreds of people were captivated by watching the auspicious Theyyam ritual at the Veerarkavu Temple in this northern district when a thundering explosion and a ball of fire shattered the serene atmosphere around midnight.

Shocking mobile phone footage, broadcast by television channels, revealed the severity of the accident and the distress of the helpless crowd gathered at the village temple near Neeleswaram.

In the footage, a large crowd could be seen gathered on one side of the temple, with a Theyyam artist, dressed in ritualistic red attire, performing amidst them.

A shocking burst was heard, and a ball of fire and billowing smoke appeared on the other side of the shrine, an eyewitness recalled.

People, including women and children, were seen scattering, running around, and urging others to move away.

Many of the survivors said they were yet to recover from the shock and said they still had no clarity on what happened at midnight.

"We were watching Theyyam... suddenly we heard a huge sound of explosion and fire at some distance. Luckily, we could move to a safer place," a young man told TV channels on Tuesday.

Everything was over within seconds. Several people suffered injuries in the stampede after the tragedy, said another eyewitness.

Another man shockingly recounted the presence of a huge crowd near the shed where the crackers were stored.

"A large number of people were present near the shed. It was really difficult for them to run away to safety when the explosion happened," he said.

A spark from a cracker burst might have fallen into the shed and ignited the heaps of crackers stored there, an elderly person said.

Over 150 people were injured, including eight seriously, in the fireworks accident during a temple festival near Neeleswaram here late Monday, police said.

The injured have been taken to various hospitals in Kasargod, Kannur, and Mangaluru, they said.

The District Collector, on Tuesday, said that 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," he said.

He further said that according to a preliminary probe, the fireworks storage facility and the place where the crackers were being burst were close by.

"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," he added.

According to the police, it is suspected that the accident occurred when the fireworks storage facility near Veerarkavu Temple caught fire.