Kerala temple tragedy: Man believed dead is alive; wrong body cremated

Kollam: A 29-year-old man, believed to have died in the Puttingal fire tragedy, turned out be alive after a body cremated by his family was actually that of someone else.

Although his relatives heaved a sigh of relief over his 'rebirth', the question now arises as to whose body they cremated.

Pramod's mother said she was happy that her son was alive but she also had tears for the relatives of the man whose body was wrongly identified as her son.

Pramod, who was assisting in bringing different types of fireworks from the storehouse, was thrown away at a distance by the impact of the explosion.

He suffered some injuries and was being treated at a hospital at Kollam.

Though his relatives had searched for him at various hospitals, they could not locate him and assumed him to be dead and wrongly identified a body with similar dental deformities.

The body was brought home by wailing relatives and cremated adjacent to their house after all rituals were performed on Monday.

However, much to their surprise, the next day they were informed by police that Pramod was alive.

Some of those undergoing treatment along with Pramod had put up his photo on their Facebook accounts to search for his relatives. Police noticed the post and informed his relatives.

A rubber tapper, Pramod said he had no idea as to how he was admitted to the hospital.

A large number of people are still approaching police with complaints about their missing relatives.

As many as 13 bodies, kept at various hospitals, are yet to be identified.