As informed today by the Kerala Health Minister Veena George, nine complete bodies and several body parts were recovered from the blast site at a fireworks manufacturing unit at Mundathicode. Tuesday’s blast had killed 13 people. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), said that 26 body parts were recovered from the blast site and are subject to their DNA tests for identification; following this, the actual number of the deceased would witness an increase.
The minister said experts from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology will arrive this morning to collect samples of the body parts and the complete bodies—including those already identified and released to family members after autopsy—for DNA testing.
Yet, there is no clarity from the government regarding the exact number of people who were there at the time of the blast.
"Identification is difficult in this incident as many of the bodies and parts are badly burnt," she said.
George further said that 13 people are under treatment at the Thrissur Medical College for their injuries, and of them, 10 are in the ICU. Of the 10, two are on a ventilator, she added.
The minister said that psychological support is also being provided to those who survived the incident, adding that some claims pegged the number of workers at the unit at 40, but few of them had also returned to their homes during the day. She said that enquiries are going on and more time will be required to arrive at an exact figure of the number of people present at the unit when the blast occurred.
Helpline numbers —
Thrissur District Collector Shikha Surendran, in a statement, said that if anyone involved in the fireworks work at the scene was still missing, the relatives should contact the control rooms at Mundathikode Village Office -- 8547614620, Thrissur Taluk Office -- 04884232226, Thrissur Collectorate -- 9447074424 and the medical college -- 8075011853.
The District Collector also said that if any of the workers working at the factory had left before the incident, they should contact the control rooms and provide information about the deceased and missing persons.
Around 40 people were suspected to have been present in the sheds at the time of the explosion, which occurred at a fireworks unit preparing crackers on behalf of a temple devaswom ahead of the upcoming Thrissur Pooram on April 26.
According to residents, the explosion occurred at around 3.30 pm, and intermittent blasts continued in the area, hampering rescue efforts. Firecrackers were being manufactured in multiple temporary sheds located in an isolated area amid paddy fields.
Follow us
