THRISSUR : Around 3pm, the sun was still harsh and a majority of the Mundathicode residents remained indoors. Out of the blue, a loud noise rang out. The impact was such that glass panes of windows burst, raising alarm.
It took some time for people to realise that an explosion had ripped through the firecracker-manufacturing unit run by Mundathicode Satheesan, the licensee for Thiruvambady devaswom.
As the rescue operations for the day concluded at Mundathicode near Wadakkanchery, after more than five hours of the incident, the residents were in a state of deep mourning, as most of the labourers in the firecracker-making unit were from the surrounding areas.
Preliminary data indicated that around 40 labourers were at work in the unit under Satheesan. Once the Thrissur Pooram work set in, the firecracker workers in the region are in high spirits as it marks peak season.
“Most of those working in the unit were from Mundathicode and Kundannoor regions. No migrant labourer was employed here as the process of firecracker-manufacturing is too delicate. There was a batch of young workers from Edappal too, around 7 to 10 people,” said Wilson, a worker who managed to escape the blast narrowly.
The work on the sample fireworks of the Thiruvambady faction was in the final stage. Three people representing Thiruvambady devaswom were also among those assisting Satheesan in shifting the completed items to the explosives magazine.
“It was a neat firecracker-manufacturing unit set up with limited amenities. It served as a source of livelihood for many people from the Mundathicode, Kundannoor, Wadakkanchery and Minalur regions. Many remained in this work only because of the passion for fireworks,” said Ajith Kumar, former Mundathicode panchayat president.
The unit that caught fire had four women labourers too. While three of them are in a critical condition, one is stable. Around 50 houses suffered damage.
“The firecracker-making unit has been functioning here for the past two decades or more, but this is the first time we have come across such an incident. It is a scary situation,” said Gopalakrishnan J, a former ward councillor who resides within a kilometre of unit.