2 days after Tamil Nadu, 13 die in Kerala cracker unit blast

THRISSUR: At least 13 people were killed and as many injured in a major explosion on Tuesday at a fireworks manufacturing unit in Mundathikode of Kerala’s Thrissur district. Five of the injured are critical with over 70% burns, officials said.Around 40 people – women, elderly and youngsters – were likely present in the sheds where crackers were being manufactured at the time of the explosion. The unit was manufacturing crackers for a Thrissur Pooram festivalss event starting Sunday. The tragedy comes two days after an explosion killed 23 workers at a firecracker factory in TN’s Virudhunagar – part of India’s main fireworks manufacturing belt around Sivakasi.While the exact cause is yet to be confirmed, experts cited prevailing heatwave conditions as a possible factor.A worker, Wilson, said the fire may have originated from wicks kept for drying in the open sun, which could have ignited due to extreme heat. The district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry. The unit is located in an isolated paddy field. The blaze broke out around 3pm, destroying four sheds storing fireworks.The impact of the explosion was so intense that residents in nearby areas initially mistook it for an earthquake. Windowpanes in houses nearly 500 metres away cracked. The blasts were heard across distant locations. Large plumes of smoke were visible from afar. Rescue operations were hampered as explosions continued for nearly three hours after the fire began.Contractor Mundathikode Satheesan, the licensee of the unit and a known name in the fireworks industry, suffered serious injuries.A late-evening official release said that nine bodies were recovered from the site. Additional dismembered body parts were also found. Collector Sikha Surendran said that DNA tests would be needed to determine whether the remains belonged to separate individuals.