Mother of missing Thrissur fireworks accident victim Girish, dies; family cites mental distress

THRISSUR: Gauri Amma (74), mother of Girish of Kottappuram in Thrissur who went missing in the Mundathikode fireworks accident, has died. She had been under treatment for paralysis for the past few days and returned home just a day before the accident after being discharged.

Her son went missing soon after the explosion at the fireworks unit. She was under severe mental distress following the incident. Whenever she regained consciousness, she would repeatedly ask about her son. She will be laid to rest at 3 pm today at Paramekkavu Santhighat.

Girish was an active member associated with the Thiruvambady Devaswom and the festival committee. Since the accident on Tuesday, there has been no information about him. He is among those listed as missing, whose bodies have not yet been recovered.

Search operations for the missing and post-mortem procedures for unidentified bodies are still ongoing. Out of the ten people presently under treatment, four remain in critical condition.

Along with Girish, those reported missing include Abhijith (Abi) of Kottappuram, Kammath Lane, Vishnu from Thrissur Manakoody and Suresh C A of Kottappuram Chelat Lane.

In the wake of the tragedy, minister-level discussions are ongoing regarding the conduct of the Thrissur Pooram festival. Authorities have been informed by groups including Paramekkavu Devaswom that the sample fireworks display should be avoided, while traditional rituals may still be conducted.