Representative image of a blast.
Credit: iStock Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Two persons were killed and around 25 injured in a blast at a cracker storage place at Thripunithura in Kochi on Monday.
The incident took place while explosives were being unloaded from a vehicle and being kept at a storage room as part of fireworks for the festival of nearby Puthiyakavu temple.
The deceased was identified as Vishnu, 27, of Thiruvananthapuram, who was a driver of the vehicle in which the explosives were brought. Another person, identified as Divakaran, succumbed to injuries by evening. Condition of six injured was stated to be serious.
Many houses up to around 500 metres around the spot suffered damage in the impact of the explosion. Window panes and roofing sheets of many nearby houses were damaged. At least five houses near the spot were fully damaged.
District collector N S K Umesh said that the explosives were stored without permission. Local people alleged that no fire safety precautions were also made.
The police registered a case against office bearers of the Puthiyakavu devaswom and arrested four. Raids were conducted at the godown of the contractor who took license for the fireworks.
Kerala had witnessed a major explosion during a temple festival at Puttingal in Kollam in 2016 that claimed over 100 lives.