A fire at a firecracker storage facility in Kerala has killed at least eight people, with six more missing and body parts recovered, days after a similar deadly incident.
THRISSUR: A massive fire at a firecracker storage facility in southern India killed at least eight people on Tuesday. The blaze in Kerala’s Thrissur district also left 15 people injured, with two in critical condition.
Police chief Nakul Rajendra Deshmukh said rescue operations were now “over”. He added that the cause of the fire was still being determined.
Local media reported the fire broke out during preparations for a Hindu festival. The death toll is expected to rise further.
Disaster official Shekhar Kuriakose said rescuers had retrieved body parts for an additional six victims. “It will take time to identify the body parts after DNA tests are conducted on them,” Kuriakose told AFP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “saddened” by the loss of lives. He offered his “deepest condolences” to the families of the victims in a social media post.
This incident occurred just days after a similar blaze at a firecracker factory in neighbouring Tamil Nadu killed 20 people on Sunday. Industrial accidents are common in India, often attributed to poor safety adherence and weak enforcement.
Last month, another fire at a fireworks factory in western India killed 17 people.
