The fire on the Theru Anjootambalam Veererkavu temple premises at Nileshwaram in Kasaragod district of Kerala has left many families and friends of the 27 victims distraught on Tuesday.
Suneesh, a Kerala government office employee, said that his neighbour K.V. Athul Babu, 20, suffered burns in the accident that happened in the early hours of Tuesday. Mr. Suneesh was at the Burns Intensive Care unit of A.J. Hospital and Research Centre in Mangaluru where Athul and four others from Kasaragod are being treated. After enquiring about his friend’s health, Mr. Suneesh went to the reception where a number of family members and friends of the 27 injured victims undergoing treatment at the hospital were waiting. Visuals of the fire were widely circulated on social media.
Mr. Suneesh said, “Till 9.30 p.m., Athul was in his house. I was shocked to receive phone calls from his family around 1 a.m. saying he had suffered burns. The doctors told me that is he recovering. I am praying to God to give Athul all the strength to overcome the pain during the recovery period that will go on for a month.”
Among the 27, is Adthul Prasad, 8, and his father T.K Prasad, 46, residents of Kottappuram in Nileshwar of Kasaragod district. Both have suffered burns on their faces and hands. While Adthul is in the paediatric ICU, Mr. Prasad has been admitted in a ward. As many as 150 persons suffered burns during the Vellatam Theyyam ritual on the temple premises for which local residents. One among them was Mr. Prasad, who had come a week ago from Dubai.
Prashanth Marla, Medical Director of the hospital, said that among the 27 undergoing treatment, some have suffered more than 40% burns. A team of expert doctors, including Dinesh Kadam and N. Sanath Bhandary from the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department, are closely monitoring the treatment of the victims. The victims in the hospital are on the path of recovery, Dr. Marla told The Hindu.
Among those undergoing treatment at the hospital are P. Babu, 58, K.V. Sindhu, 48, K.V. Abhiram, 23, K.V. Rajith, 35, Sanoj, 41, Leena, 52, K. Anoop, 36, Dhanush, 17, Rajendran, 62, P.K. Vijayan, 64, A.V. Ramachandran, 70, H.P. Nitheesh, 29, C. Kripesh, 27, K. Sanoj, 40, Saayan Dev, 4, Surya Dev, 9, K. Bharathan, 73 and M. Shreehari, 18.
Published - October 29, 2024 07:31 pm IST