Images from videos released by news portals show extensive damage and debris resulting from explosion and fire at Kerala temple in India.
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However, this year, Kollam district officials had denied permission to the temple board for fireworks display, A. Shainamol, the district’s top official, reportedly said.
Almost 400 others were injured near the temple when a faulty rocket fell onto a large stockpile of fireworks.
“There were bodies all over the place and the injured were writhing in pain”, he said. “In the past, there’s been fireworks but not on this scale”.
Kerala’s temples are managed by rich and powerful trusts that often flout local regulations.
Rescue workers were sifting through the debris for clues about how an unauthorized fireworks display sparked the fire that swept through the temple as it was packed with thousands for a religious festival.
A day after the Kollam temple tragedy sent shock waves across the nation, Kerala police began probe into the fireworks mishap on Monday, even as the death toll continued to mount.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi headed to the disaster site with a team of specialist doctors.
“The fire at the temple in Kollam is heart-rending and shocking beyond words”, he said in a Twitter post.
The Governor conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family members of those who lost their lives and has prayed to the Almighty for heavenly peace of the departed souls. Numerous victims were charred beyond recognition.
Meanwhile, the fallout of the Kollam incident has been on the mother of all temple festivals in Kerala, the Thrissur Pooram on April 17.
But Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party said he was focused on the task in hand. The BJP has focused on building up grassroots strength in the state for decades.
Authorities have already ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.
Earlier on Monday, Travancore Devasam Board, which governs almost 1,000 temples in Kerala, said it will not accept a ban on fireworks asserting that they are part of temple rituals.
“Banned chemicals were used by the suppliers who manufactured the crackers and conducted the display”, he said.
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Police sources said a case has been registered against temple authorities and explosive licencees under section 307 (Attempt to murder), and 308 (Attempt to commit culpable homicide) of IPC and under section 4 of Explosives Substances Act.
