KOZHIKODE: The toll of the tragedy at Manakulangara Bhagavathy Temple, Kuruvangad, on Thursday, would have been much higher had the elephants rushed straight at the crowd or if it all happened a little later.
The festival is quite popular and attended by hundreds of people. Since Thursday was the last day of the festival, a large number of devotees had been arriving at the temple, said Bindu P B, Anela-Kuruvangad ward councillor.
“However, at the time of the incident, there was not much crowd near the elephants. Things would have been much worse had the incident taken place a little later,” she said.
K K Radhakrishnan, member of the festival committee, said it all happened while a special procession from Manakkulangara temple to the nearest temple led by the two elephants – Peethambaran and Gokul – was being taken out on the final day of the festival.
“Suddenly, Peethambaran turned violent while the procession was taking a right turn in front of the temple and attacked Gokul near the old building housing the temple office. The structure came crashing down and people suffered injuries after getting caught under it and in the resulting commotion,” he said.
Radhakrishnan said the two elephants, however, ran out of the temple through the east gate. As a result, a more serious tragedy was averted, he said.
Kuruvangad resident Balakrishnan, too, said the elephants turned violent while turning in front of the temple. “It all happened right before my eyes. Normally, fireworks are carried out in the nearby ground. However, this time, the fireworks were arranged near the pond next to the temple,” he said.
Videos on social media showed the elephants damaging the building and approaching people aggressively. Fireworks can be heard in the background.
As for the fireworks, Radhakrishnan said they followed the rules and took insurance. “We are not sure whether the incident took place due to the fireworks,” he said.