Fire in cracker unit leaves one dead, 10 injured

Pattanamthitta (kerala): One person died and ten others suffered injuries, some of them grievously, in an explosion caused in a shed where fire crackers were being prepared. The incident occurred in Eraviperoor village of Pattanamthitta in Kerala on Saturday.

The injured were rushed to Thiruvalla and Kottayam Medical College and the condition of some of them was stated to be serious. The mishap occurred when the workers of an organiseation called Pratyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha (PRDS) was celebrating the 128th birth anniversary of its founder Poykayil Yohannan.The function is celebrated as annual Kumaraguru Jayanthi.

The PRDS is a protest moment against the casteism plaguing the Christianity in Kerala. Yohannan launched the protest movement in 1909 against oppression, slavery and casteism.