Firecracker unit explodes in Kottayam

KOTTAYAM: In yet another fire at an illegal cracker making unit, a woman was seriously injured while another person suffered minor injuries at Neendur on Monday. Molly Mathew, 45, and Prakash, 42, were making crackers in a shed when it caught fire around 10 am, police said.Hearing the blast, the local people rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire before the Fire and Rescue Services personnel arrived.The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Kottayam. The woman suffered burns on 60 per cent of her body. However, the condition of Prakash is not serious. Hospital authorities said that the injured were being treated in the burns unit.The duo were engaged in making crackers for a function at Kallara, in the shed behind the the house of the owner, when the mishap occurred.The woman’s husband, Mathai, the owner of the unit, was not present at the place when the incident occurred.  The police have registered a case against Mathai under section 9 of the Indian Explosives Act.The incident comes close on the heels of a similar incident at Athani in Thrissur where fire at a cracker unit claimed five lives