Kalyan Jewellers, M A Yusuf Ali Announces Financial Assistance for Families of Thrissur Firecracker UNit Explosion Victims

Thrissur: Business leaders T S Kalyanaraman and M A Yusuff Ali have announced financial assistance for the families of those killed in the fireworks accident at Mundathikode.

Kalyanaraman, Managing Director of Kalyan Jewellers, said that ₹5 lakh would be given to each of the bereaved families, and that the amount has been handed over to the secretary of the Thiruvambady Devaswom. Meanwhile, Yusuff Ali, Chairman of Lulu Group International, announced ₹1 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.

The Keralam state cabinet has declared the incident a special disaster and ordered a judicial inquiry, to be led by Justice C N Ramachandran Nair. The cabinet has also approved an immediate compensation package of ₹14 lakh for the dependents of those who died—₹4 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund and ₹10 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Additionally, ₹2 lakh has been sanctioned as immediate relief for the injured, whose treatment expenses for up to six months in government or private hospitals will be fully covered by the state.

The explosion occurred around 3.20 pm on Tuesday at a facility preparing firercakers for the Thrissur Pooram. Preliminary findings suggest that the intense heat caused stored explosives left out to dry to catch fire. Five sheds were completely destroyed in the blast.

Rescue operations were initially delayed as explosions continued for over three hours, preventing teams from entering the site. A subsequent blast during an inspection later that night, in the presence of the district collector and police commissioner, added to concerns. Investigations are still ongoing in the area. The death toll has risen to 14 after one more critically injured person succumbed to injuries.