A temple priest who had sustained severe burns in a fire outbreak at thidapalli (temple kitchen where offerings to the deity are cooked) of a temple in Kilimanoor succumbed to burn injuries on Thursday evening. The deceased is Jayakumaran Namboothiri, 49, the chief priest at Puthiyakavu Bhagavathy temple. He was a resident of Muttapalam Ilanka Mattom, Perumkuzhy, Azhoor.

The incident happened on September 30. Namboothiri had prepared the offering for the deity in thidappalli. He then returned to the temple kitchen with a lit lamp, and as soon as he opened the door of the temple kitchen, a fire broke out from a gas leakage. He suffered burns following the incident and was rushed to a private medical college at Venjaramoodu, from where he was shifted to a private hospital at Venpalavattam, where he was being treated for burns. The death was confirmed by Thursday evening.

CCTV visuals from the temple showed the priest walking towards the temple kitchen, where his dhoti caught fire soon after flames engulfed the room. In the visuals, he is seen running away from the kitchen in a panic.

Namboothiri is survived by his wife, Umadevi, and children, Aditya Narayanan Namboothiri and Aradhika. Final rites will be held after the post-mortem.