“The Catholic Church in India will extend all medical assistance to the more than 350 people injured”, he told AsiaNews”.
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“It was complete chaos”, villager Krishna Das said.
“There are some unidentified bodies in a badly mutilated state, for which DNA tests will have to be done to ascertain their identity. Ambulance sirens went off, and in the darkness no-one knew how to find their way out of the complex”.
They are believed to be associates of K Surendran, one of the contractors who organised the fireworks at the temple on the night of April 9-10.
Villagers and police had to pull numerous injured out from under slabs of concrete and twisted steel girders. Scores of anxious relatives crowded the Kollam District Hospital on Monday, searching for loved ones still missing.
Thousands of people were gathered at the temple at Kollam in the southern state of Kerala on Sunday for the pyrotechnic show to mark the start of the Hindu year when sparks ignited a cache of fireworks stored on the grounds.
“There seems to have been a gross violation of explosives norms”, said Kamal, who in charge of monitoring use, storage and licensing of explosives.
Several of those present for the celebration ran in panic after the initial blast cut off power in the temple area, while other explosions sent flames triggering the collapse of a building at the temple, a witness reportedly said.
The mishap occurred as sparks of the fireworks fell on the store room “Kambapura” and the fire crackers kept there exploded with a deafening noise.
“A criminal case has been registered against 40 people, including office-bearers of the Puttingal temple board in the state’s Kollam district, for going ahead with a fireworks display without any government permission”.
Amita Prakash, a resident, said she and some other residents have been trying since 2012 to stop the fireworks display which goes on for hours.
State Labor Minister Shibu Baby John said incident would be investigated, and the victims would be compensated.
The cars reportedly belong to the family of one of the organisers of the programme.
With the Puttingal Temple premises yet to recover from the tragedy which had engulfed it following a firework display, another scary news had hit the people there.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushed to the scene and a team of specialist doctors were deployed from New Delhi to treat the horrific burn injuries.
