THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state on Saturday had one suspected heat-related mortality and 91 cases of heat-related illness. The suspected heatstroke death was reported from Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district. The deceased is Unnikrishnan Nair, 50, of Paruthiyarakkal Veedu. Meanwhile, the Parassala village officer and Thiruvananthapuram District Medical Office said the reason for the death could only be ascertained after the postmortem report.
“Unnikrishnan was a farmer. As per his family accounts, he worked on the farm till 10 am. After that, he along with his nephew had gone out on a motorcycle. As they reached Muriyathottam, Unnikrishnan developed uneasiness and fell unconscious. Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced brought dead,” said an officer of Parassala Police Station.
The body which was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College was released to the family after formalities. Unnikrishnan is survived by his wife Ashalatha and daughters Devi Krishna (14) and Arya Krishna (7). At the same time, the data available with the Health Department says the state on the day had two sunstroke incidents at Kottayam and Kannur followed by 59 sunburn cases and 30 heat rash cases.
“The highest number of sunburn cases was reported from Kozhikode (13) followed by Pathanamthitta (11). While Kollam had the most number of heat rash cases (seven) followed by Idukki and Kannur (four each),” said an officer of the Health Department. The daily report also highlights chickenpox cases are also on the rise as the state had 139 confirmed cases on the day. Other than that, an Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) case was also reported from Malappuram.
Meanwhile, Meteorological Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, reports rain had occurred at one or two places in the state. While maximum temperature fell appreciably in Thrissur district, it was appreciably above normal in Alappuzha and above normal in Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. While Palakkad recorded the highest maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, Punalur recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 23 degrees Celsius.