Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking incident at a temple in Kasaragod district, more than 150 people were injured—10 of them seriously—during a fireworks accident late last night. The incident occurred at the Anjootambalam Veerekavu temple during the festive celebrations marking the beginning of the festive season in the north Malabar region.

Eyewitness accounts suggest that the tragedy unfolded around midnight when a firecracker display was underway. It is believed that one of the crackers may have accidentally fallen into a nearby shed where additional firecrackers were stored. Disturbing visuals from the scene showed a massive fireball erupting, enveloped in thick smoke, as people gathered at the temple scrambled to escape the chaos.

Priyesh, who was at the temple with his cousins, described the scene: “It started with a loud blast, and then we saw a ball of fire. Soon, there was panic. There was such a large crowd, and many people were unable to move around freely. We immediately began rushing the injured to nearby hospitals.”

Sreerag, a temple associate who had traveled from Bengaluru for the festival, mentioned that he was managing the crowd when the explosion occurred. “We usually expect a large crowd on the second day of the festival, but Monday night’s turnout was unusually high,” he said. “Chinese crackers were stored in the shed, and a spark from a flower cracker may have ignited them.”

Local residents have expressed their concerns, stating that the storehouse was too close to the area where the firecrackers were being burst. E Shajeer, a local ward member, criticized the lack of oversight: “While crackers are not usually burst on a large scale here, more precautions should have been taken regarding the distance between the shed and the bursting site.”

Kasaragod collector Inbasekar K emphasized that safety regulations dictate that crackers must be stored at least 100 meters away from the area of use.

In response to the incident, two office bearers of the temple committee have been taken into police custody. A case has also been filed against eight members of the temple committee for organising the fireworks display without permission and for violating safety guidelines. The FIR states that the careless display directly led to the fire in the storage area.