Neeleswaram fireworks accident: SIT probe begun, with 21 in ICU

A fire accident during a Theyyam performance at a temple near Neeleswaram late last night (28 October) left 154 people injured, eight of them seriously, when firecrackers stored in the vicinity exploded, police said on Tuesday, 29 October.

Kasargod district police chief D. Shilpa announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire accident.

The district administration said that the additional divisional magistrate has been directed to carry out an inquiry separately into the incident and submit a report as well.

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

Nileshwaram police have registered a case under the Explosive Substance Act and various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The firecrackers were burst in the temple premises without any legal permission, and the accident happened due to its careless handling and negligence by the accused, police said.

Eight people were booked, and four of them were taken into custody, a senior police officer said.

Though police earlier said that all those booked are temple committee members. They later clarified that one among them is a local man who burst firecrackers.

The incident occurred as hundreds of people, including women and children, had gathered to have a glimpse of the Theyyam performance at the shrine.

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

The district collector said on Tuesday that those who were seriously injured had 80 per cent burns.

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.

As per the latest official update, of the total 21 people admitted to the intensive care units, seven are under ventilator support, and one person is critically ill.

Eyewitnesses said sparks from firecrackers fell on the rest of the stocks stored nearby, leading to an explosion that scared away many of the people. The building also suffered serious damage. Its walls and roof were found broken down.

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 seen on one of the premises of the shrine.

Over 154 people sustained serious and minor injuries in the accident, and at least 102 persons were seeking treatment in various hospitals in Kasaragod, Kannur and Kozhikode districts and in Mangalore in neighbouring Karnataka, authorities said.

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 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.

A young man, who suffered minor injuries, said those who burst the firecrackers ignored the repeated warnings by people not to light them near the shed.

Lok Sabha member Raj Mohan Unnithan said about 1,500 people participated in the temple ritual last night.

"Over 10,000 people were expected to take part in the continuing rituals at the temple on Tuesday. If the accident happened today, what would have been its gravity?," he asked, speaking to TV channels.

Unnithan also blamed temple committee members as well as the police for the display of fireworks, and accused them of not undertaking any mandatory checks on the fireworks stock and explosives used in them.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday spoke of how disturbed she was 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.