People burst crackers in front of shop; entire shop catches fire; 2 bikes gutted in TVM

Thiruvananthapuram: Three shops were gutted after a fire broke out at a firecracker shop set up for Diwali in Karamana here. The fire broke out in a shop called Chandrika store around 7:30 PM on Saturday. Two bikes parked in front of the shop were also burnt. No one was seriously injured.

Apart from the firecrackers shop, a grocery and stationary shop were also destroyed in the fire. All three shops belong to Radhakrishnan Nair, a native of Thamalam. About Rs 1.5 lakh collected through sales in these shoes were also burnt. The loss of goods alone would come up to Rs 50 lakh.

As it was the eve of Diwali, business was brisk and those who were buying crackers began bursting it from outside the shop itself. According to witnesses, a spark from one such cracker could have caused the fire.

At the time of the accident, five people including Rahakrishnan Nair were present in the shop. Since the shop had a rear door, everyone was able to escape as soon as the fire started. Two people fainted due to the shock of the fire and the sound of explosions. 

Vishnu (23) lost consciousness while inside the shop and was carried outside by Radhakrishnan’s son Unnikrishnan, averting a major tragedy. Radhakrishnan’s wife Chandrika, also fainted. Both were admitted to the hospital along with another employee, Ashakumari, who suffered minor burns. 

The fire was extinguished within an hour with the joint efforts of the fire force and police.