Puri: Three persons, including a minor boy, were killed, while more than 30 devotees were critically injured after a fire caused an explosion in a firecracker heap during ‘Chapa Khela’ of the Holy Trinity in Narendra pond in Odisha’s Puri. The ritual was a part of the Chandan Yatra of Lord Jagannth and his sibling deities Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
According to reports, the shocking explosion took place when the famous Chandan Yatra was underway in the pond of the Jagannath Temple in Puri on Wednesday night.
A minor boy succumbed to burn injuries during treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, while two others died in private hospitals in Bhubaneswar.
According to eyewitnesses, sparkles from exploded crackers fell on a pile of crackers on the Devi Ghat side of the pond causing the massive explosion. Consequently, devotees who had gathered at the pond to witness the water sports of the Holy Trinity sustained critical burns.
Many devotees jumped into the pond in an effort to save their lives and local rescued the injured and sent them to different hospitals. Initially, the injured were rushed to the outdoor department and later shifted to the surgery ward of the Puri District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). Later, they were shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and private hospitals in Bhubaneswar as hospitals in Puri lack burn units.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed concern over the mishap and announced that all medical expenses of the injured will be borne from the CM Relief Fund (CMRF).
