Tamil Nadu Diwali emergency calls nearly doubled on the festival day, while trauma, assault and burn admissions rose sharply across the state, according to Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) data cited by the health department. Two people, including a 13-year-old boy, died of burn injuries during the weekend, while several others remained under treatment.
A 50-year-old man from Cuddalore, identified as Karunamurthy, was declared dead by doctors at Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Sunday. He was among seven people injured in a fire at a cracker shop near Panruti in Cuddalore district. Five of the severely burned patients were brought to Chennai for treatment, and one remained in critical condition, according to the state health department.
The other fatality was a 13-year-old boy who died on Saturday after a cylinder explosion at his home near Villupuram. His parents also sustained burn injuries and were being treated at Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital.
The emergency response system recorded 21,302 calls to the 108 ambulance control room on Diwali day, compared with 11,059 on a normal day. Ambulances transported 5,968 patients, up from the usual 4,463 and from 5,445 on Diwali in 2025.
Hospital admissions rose by at least 34% compared with a normal day, with the largest increases recorded in trauma, assault-related injuries and burns. Trauma admissions, including road accident cases, reached 2,020, nearly three times the daily average of 728 and 16.2% higher than the previous year.
Admissions for injuries following assaults rose to 709, against a daily average of 184. Burn admissions reached 207, compared with a normal daily average of eight. Together, trauma, assault and burn cases accounted for nearly half of all admissions, compared with about one-fifth on an ordinary day.
The pressure on emergency services continued across the wider festival period. Between 7am on November 7 and 7am on November 9, the 108 service received 39,634 calls, including 6,317 trauma-related calls, 1,627 calls concerning assault injuries and 462 for burns.
The Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services department control room received 160 emergency calls on Sunday. Of these, 104 were related to fires caused by bursting firecrackers. The figures show how festival-related incidents can simultaneously increase demand for ambulance transport, hospital beds, emergency trauma care and fire-response capacity across multiple districts.
Thanjavur Government Medical College Hospital recorded the highest number of inpatients at 237. Madurai followed with 206, Chengalpattu with 185, the government hospital at Periyar Nagar with 138 and Thoothukudi with 91. The health department’s figures cover admissions and emergency calls recorded during the specified Diwali and weekend periods.
