A day after the blast at a firecracker production unit preparing fireworks for Kerala’s famous Thrissur Pooram at Mundathikkodu in Thrissur, it is suspected that 14 people have died and 4 are missing. While nine whole bodies have been recovered, the mortal remains also include severed body parts believed to belong to four or five different individuals. This has made both identification of the deceased and determination of the exact death toll unusually challenging.

The incident occurred while the unit was assembling fireworks for the Thiruvambady Devaswom, one of the two main groups organising the renowned festival. Most of the injured are workers from the facility.

10 people were hospitalised, of whom 5 are in critical condition, and one is on ventilator support. Another person who had been on ventilator support succumbed to injuries on Wednesday afternoon. However, three others undergoing treatment were discharged.

Following the incident, the Thrissur Medical College police registered a suo moto case on Wednesday.

Both the Central and State governments were quick to respond to the tragedy. On Tuesday, the Kerala government announced ₹50 lakh from the Flood and Other Emergencies Fund to be disbursed through the Thrissur District Collectorate for immediate response measures. Meanwhile, the Centre announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for those injured.

On Wednesday, the Kerala government convened a Special Cabinet Meeting and declared the incident a ‘State Disaster’. It approved compensation of ₹14 lakh for the families of those killed. Additionally, for victims requiring treatment beyond six months, expenses in private hospitals will be covered through the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), subject to the recommendation of a medical board.

The Cabinet also ordered a judicial probe into the incident and appointed a one-member commission headed by Justice C N Ramachandran. Meanwhile, DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar said special teams have been constituted under the Thrissur Police Commissioner to investigate the explosion. In addition, a separate team led by the Thrissur City ACP (Crime Branch) has also been formed.

The blast has also raised safety concerns about the functioning of such manufacturing units that handle explosives. Considering these risks, the district authorities have issued a stop memo to a unit producing firecrackers for the Paramekkavu Devaswom.

As the autopsy and identification processes progressed, Shikha Surendran, the Thrissur District Collector, said the body parts recovered would be identified by matching DNA samples of relatives. For this purpose, DNA samples from four families whose members have been untraceable since the incident have been collected and will be sent for testing. She added that the results could take up to 10 days, though they may be available within four to five days.

While no official list of missing persons has yet been published by the authorities, the District Collector said the list is being compiled based on enquiries received by the control room. Taking this into account, Minister K Rajan urged the public to inform authorities if anyone known to have been at the site remains untraceable since the incident. The list is expected to be published by Wednesday evening.