2 including 7-yr-old boy killed in cracker blast during temple festival

COIMBATORE: Two persons including a seven-year-old boy died in a cracker blast during a temple festival in Dharmapuri on Tuesday night.

Police identified the deceased as R Ragavendran, 26 and A Akash, 7, from C Pallipatti village near Morappur. As part of the temple festival, a Goddess idol was taken on procession in a load carrier vehicle driven by Ragavendran.

The boy was sitting nearby, while his father Ashokan was firing crackers on the street of the procession route.

Unfortunately, a lit cracker had fallen on the stock of crackers kept inside the vehicle and sparked fire.

“As the huge pile of crackers began to burst, both the youth and the boy were thrown away from the vehicle, which also got completely gutted. Akash died on the spot and Ragavendran succumbed to injuries while being taken to Dharmapuri Government Hospital,” police said.

One more person, Athi, 50 hailing from the same village also suffered severe burns and was admitted in Harur Government Hospital.

He was then shifted to a private hospital in Dharmapuri for further treatment. The idol, which was taken on procession, was also damaged in the fire mishap.