Over 150 injured in fireworks accident at a Kerala temple festival; three arrested

Over 150 people were injured, including ten seriously, in a 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 accident occurred at Veerarkavu Temple near Neeleswaram. 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. The accident occurred around midnight, they said.

Three people were arrested in connection with fire accident that took place at a temple in nearby Neeleswaram, police said on Tuesday. The arrested persons were identified as Rajesh P, Bharathan and Chandrashekharan, they said. Of them, Bharathan and Chandrashekharan were secretary and president of the temple committee, Rajesh was the one who set off firecrackers during the time of the mishap, the police said. The fire accident during a Theyyam performance at a temple near Neeleswaram late Monday night left 154 people injured, eight of them seriously, when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded.