Thrissur Firecracker Unit Explosion: Cadaver Dogs Deployed as Search Uncovers More Body Parts

Thrissur: The death toll from Tuesday's catastrophic explosion at the Mundathikode firecracker manufacturing unit has climbed to 15, with search operations at the site recovering additional human remains on Thursday morning, including four body parts retrieved from a nearby pond. Around 160 police personnel are currently deployed at the site.

Four specialised cadaver dogs — Maya, Murphy, Angel, and Sania, drawn from Kochi City Police, Idukki, Thrissur City, and Thrissur Rural units respectively — are being deployed alongside Bomb Squad, Forensic, Fire Force, and Civil Defence teams to continue the painstaking search of the blast site. By Thursday, approximately 150 body parts had been recovered in total. DNA samples have been taken from 29 of these, and four families have provided reference samples for identification purposes. Results are expected within two days.

During the search, a large number of unexploded munitions — mostly shells — were also found and safely neutralised.

Preliminary indications suggest that around 34 persons were present at the facility at the time of the blast. However, in a significant development, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) has indicated that the cause of the explosion was not heat — contradicting the earlier working hypothesis — though the precise cause is yet to be officially established.

The facility, which stored the complete fireworks inventory for the Thiruvambadi section's Thrissur Pooram display, was devastated in the explosion that occurred on Tuesday afternoon, destroying all records and leaving the full toll of the tragedy still to be determined.