More than 150 persons were reported hurt, some of them seriously, in a fire-crackers blast that occurred during a temple-car festival celebration near Neeleswaram late last night, according to the police.
The accident occurred at Veerarkavu Temple, thus; those affected were rushed to hospitals in Kasargod, Kannur and Mangaluru. The District Collector said some of the extremely injured people was burned over 80% of their body.
The government is investigating the circumstances that led to the accident and some samples have been taken from the scene. A case has been opened in connection with the event.
Working hypotheses are sources of exposure and initial investigations suggested that safety procedures were violated. In this case, the fireworks storage facility was only a few feet from the ignition area, a total violation of the minimum separation of the two areas to the tune of 100 meters. Furthermore, sources state that there were no acquisition of any kind of permission to store the fireworks used in the festival.
Police believe the mishap occurred when a fireworks storage facility close to the temple was engulfed in flames at midnight.
