Man suffers burns in freak accident inside gas crematorium in Pathanamthitta

PATHANAMTHITTA: A person suffered burns in a freak accident during a final rites ritual in Pathanamthitta on Monday. The accident occurred at a gas crematorium owned by Pazhavangadi Panchayat in Ranni, Pathanamthitta.

The dead body of a Udumal native woman was being cremated at this place when fire broke out. The accident occurred while a person was lighting the camphor as part of the ritual. Jijo Puthanpurakkal, a native of Puthamon, suffered burns in the accident. A major tragedy was averted as he was wearing clothes at the time of the incident, which helped others douse the fire quickly. Jijo was admitted to the taluk hospital. Only one person was burnt in the accident.

Meanwhile, the panchayat authorities say that permission is not given to burn camphor in such a gas crematorium. There are also allegations that the authorities released the gas despite seeing camphor being burned. The panchayat authorities promised a detailed investigation into the matter.