THRISSUR: Preparing to enter married life, 35-year-old Vishnu was a happy man. He had recently secured a job in a temple and his love for temples and festivals drew him into volunteering for allied work. Thus, he ended up at the firecracker-manufacturing unit in Mundathicode.
Hailing from Puthurkkara, Vishnu had gone with his friends to help with the Thrissur Pooram firecracker work.
“His marriage was almost fixed and we were all delighted that he would finally settle down in life. His mother believes Vishnu has only been hospitalised after the incident,” said Shyam, his brother-in-law.
Shyam rushed to the Thrissur Medical College Hospital on Tuesday night from Ernankulam, where he resides, after hearing the news about the blast.
“We had visited Vishnu and his mother during Vishu. Even then, he was busy with festival work and left soon after lunch on Vishu day. We are still uncertain about him, as identifying bodies here was hard. Blood samples have now been taken from his sister for DNA sampling. We are awaiting the results,” said Shyam.
Vishnu is still reported as missing as his body was not among the identifiable ones.
“This is not the first time he was helping with firecracker-making and transportation work. But this incident has totally shocked us. We don’t know how long we have to wait for a confirmation. And what will we tell his mother,” Shyam added.
Vishnu was accompanied by four others volunteers for Thiruvambady devaswom in helping with the firecracker-making as it had reached the final stage and the crackers were set to be transferred to the explosives magazine of the temple.