Chennithala said a case for illegal possession of explosives had been registered against the temple.
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Police officer Anantha Krishnan said the five taken into custody were employees of a fireworks manufacturer who was given the contract for running the show at the Puttingal Devi temple.
Most of the deaths occurred when the building where the fireworks were stored collapsed, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is now visiting the site of the tragedy, tweeted: “Fire at temple in Kollam is heartrending & shocking beyond words”.
Modi announced INR 200,000 in compensation for the families of those killed and INR 50,000 for those injured.
Officials of the Crime Branch and personnel from the office of Chief Controller of Explosives collected evidence from the accident spot, situated about 70 km from Thiruvananthapuram.
At Kollam, senior officials of the health department and the Delhi team took stock of the treatment procedures and decided that there was no need to shift any of the patients out of the district.
According to officials, a spark had actually ignited a stack of fireworks, triggering the fire. The fireworks erupted in a big explosion. The blaze then spread quickly through the temple, trapping devotees within.
Surendran, one of the two contractors for the fireworks show, is battling for life, while the other, Krishnakutty, died in the blast.
“They have recommended that no permission should be given for the fireworks because of the competitive nature and lack of space among others”.
It was definitely not god’s will. This is what every “god-fearing” citizen of the country is saying as news channels beamed footages of victims, who died in Kerala’s Kollam temple tragedy.
“We will investigate how the orders were flouted and who was responsible for the decision to go ahead with the fireworks display”, said CM Oommen Chandy.
Meanwhile, police have seized a small quantity of unexploded fireworks materials from the fire site. I pray for early recovery of injured. The hospitals were overwhelmed by the inflow of victims as they were short-staffed to handle situation on Sunday.
Emergency room doctor Rajesh Kumar said those who poured into his hospital were suffering from head injuries and burn wounds, and several had needed amputations. Scientific examination would be done to identify bodies which have not yet been claimed, he said.
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Total outpatients treated at hospitals in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram was put at 879. So far, 112 persons have been brought in here. Minutes later, his friends were dead. “It will be hard to ascertain the identity of the deceased without conducting DNA tests”. Additional chief secretary (home) Nalini Netto has been asked to frame the terms of reference for the judicial probe. He added that the best-possible medical attention will be ensured for those injured. Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate said through a spokesman that they were “saddened by the news” after arriving in India on Sunday for an official tour.
