People in nearby areas have been evacuated.
A major fire broke out at a plastic manufacturing unit in Manvilla near Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. The factory is located just under 5kms away from the Greenfield International Stadium where the fifth ODI between India and West Indies will be played on Thursday. According to PTI, police said that there were no casualties and two people, who felt uneasy after inhaling the fumes, have been hospitalised. People in nearby areas have been evacuated.
At least 30 fire tenders have been trying to out the blaze, which broke out at 7 pm, Wednesday. Workers, who were in the unit, managed to rush out as soon as the fire broke out, some of the workers said. Visuals aired by TV channels showed thick smoke billowing out of the unit as fire tenders are fighting the blaze for four hours.
Fire breaks out in plastic manufacturing factory near venue for 5th ODI pic.twitter.com/x2WLBMg91a
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) October 31, 2018
According to reports, District Collector K Vasuki has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in Manvila and Kulathoor wards on Thursday owing to health hazard from toxic fumes.
Police said there were no casualties, people in nearby areas have been evacuated
The factory is located in Manvila, which is just under 5 kms away from Greenfield International stadium where the match will be played pic.twitter.com/1CJ6bC3aRQ
— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) October 31, 2018
Greenfield Stadium has hosted an international cricket stadium only once before – a T20I match between India and New Zealand in 2017. Although it had originally been slated to be played at Greenfield, the Kerala Cricket Association chose to shift the match to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The decision drew the ire of football fans, who were worried that the renovations made on the pitch for the FIFA U-17 World Cup that took place just a month before could be undone by the match and this would cause problems in Indian Super League matches involving Kerala Blasters that were to be played there.
The matter snowballed with former India cricket captain and then-Kerala Blasters co-owner Sachin Tendulkar appealing for the match to be shifted. In the end, the match was shifted back to the Greenfield Stadium. It has also hosted a number of football matches before, most notably a SAFF Cup final between India and Afghanistan in 2015.