Kasaragod (Kerala), 29 Oct

A fire accident during a Theyyam performance at a temple near Neeleswaram late last night left 150 people injured, 10 of them seriously, when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded, police said on Tuesday.

While police said that the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be ascertained, eyewitnesses said sparks from firecrackers fell on the rest of the stocks stored nearby, leading to an explosion that scared away the people watching the Theyyam performance.

The incident happened at Veerarkavu Temple near Neeleswaram in this northernmost district of Kerala, police said.

Nileswaram police have registered a case into the firework accident under the Explosive Substance Act and various sections of the BNS.

"A case was registered into the incident, and eight persons are booked. All those booked are temple committee members," a senior police officer told PTI.

It was suspected that the firecrackers were burst without complying with safety norms and guidelines, he said.

Hundreds of people, including women and children, had gathered to have a glimpse of the Theyyam at the shrine.

Theyyam is a centuries-old ritualistic performance held at temples and 'kavus' (sacred groves) in the Malabar (north Kerala) region of Kerala.

Mobile phone footage, broadcast by television channels, showed hapless people getting scattered and running in panic after a thundering explosion and a ball of fire happened on one of the premises of the shrine.

The incident was suspected to have happened after the fire crackers stored in a shed in the temple premises caught fire accidently, eyewitnesses said.

According to police, over 150 people sustained serious and minor injuries in the accident, and at least 108 persons were seeking treatment in various hospitals in Kasaragod, Kannur, and Kozhikode districts and in Mangalore in neighbouring Karnataka, police said.

The District Collector said on Tuesday 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," 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.

Mobile phone footage broadcast by television channels, showed the severity of the accident and the distress of the helpless crowd gathered at the village temple.

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 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 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.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said she was disturbed by the news of the firecracker accident.

The Congress leader, in a post on social media platform 'X', said that her thoughts and prayers were with those injured in the incident and their families.

She urged all Congress workers to "mobilise and support relief efforts".-PTI