Fireworks accident at temple in India kills more than 100

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Fireworks accident at temple in India kills more than 100
By ANNA MATHEWS

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AP) — The Hindu temple in southern India was packed with thousands for a religious festival early Sunday when the fireworks began — an unauthorized pyrotechnic display that went horribly wrong.

Explosions and a massive fire swept rapidly through the Puttingal temple complex about 3 a.m. in the village of Paravoor, killing 102 people and injuring 380 others, officials said.

Scores of devotees ran in panic as the massive initial blast cut off power in the complex, while other explosions sent flames and debris raining down, a witness said. Many people were trapped inside.

"It was complete chaos," said Krishna Das of Paravoor. "People were screaming in the dark. Ambulance sirens went off, and in the darkness no one knew how to find their way out of the complex."

Das said the first deafening explosion occurred as the fireworks display was about to end and as he was walking away. It was followed by a series of blasts, he added.

The fire started when a spark from the fireworks show ignited a separate batch of fireworks that were being stored in the temple complex, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the top elected official in Kerala state.

Most of the 102 deaths occurred when the building where the fireworks were stored collapsed, Chandy told reporters. About 60 bodies have been identified so far, he added.

Das said six ambulances had been parked outside the complex as a precaution. They carried the injured to hospitals in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Paravoor, as well as the city of Kollam.

Villagers and police pulled many of the injured from under slabs of concrete.

TV channels showed video of huge clouds of white smoke billowing from the temple, as fireworks were still going off in the sky.

One of the explosions sent huge chunks of concrete flying as far as a kilometer (half a mile), said Jayashree Harikrishnan, another resident.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control by about 7 a.m., officials said. Rescuers searched the wreckage for survivors, while backhoes cleared debris and ambulances drove away the injured.

Thousands of worried relatives went to the temple to search for loved ones. Many wept and pressed police officials and rescue workers for information.

At one of the main hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Thomas Mathew said that judging from injuries, a stampede was also likely to have occurred.

The temple holds a competitive fireworks show every year, with different groups putting on displays for thousands gathered for the end of a seven-day festival honoring the goddess Bhadrakali, a southern Indian incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali.

This year, however, authorities in Kollam district had denied temple officials permission to hold the fireworks display, said A. Shainamol, the district's top official.

"They were clearly told that no permission would be given for any kind of fireworks," Shainamol told reporters.

Permission was denied over fears the competing sides would try to outdo each other with more and more fireworks and because the temple gets overcrowded during the festival, she said.

Public displays of fireworks can be conducted only with permission from district officials, Shainamol said.

Chandy, the state's chief minister, said he had appointed a retired judge to investigate the events leading to the fire and that strict action would be taken against those who had ignored rules.

"We will be investigating how the orders were flouted and who was responsible for the decision to go ahead with the firework display," Chandy said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in from New Delhi to visit the site and met with Chandy and other Kerala leaders on measures to help the survivors.

Modi was accompanied by a team of doctors and burn specialists from New Delhi who will stay on to help treat the injured, officials said.
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Associated Press writers Nirmala George and Katy Daigle in New Delhi contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-04-11

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Indian PM visits area where temple fire killed 100 Hindu devotees



THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: -- A fire in the southern Indian state of Kerala has killed about 100 people gathered at a temple for a fireworks display marking the start of the local Hindu new year.

The chief state minister said the temple had earlier been denied permission for the event.

“The safety precautions are not taken here properly and the strength of the fireworks: the items they have selected are not suitable for this place,” medical officer Dr Saniam Soman told reporters.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to the town of Kollam with a team of doctors to help state authorities cope with the large number of injured.

A local magistrate said people living near the temple had complained about the danger of fireworks at similar events in the past.

Witnesses say the blaze started when a cracker fell onto a shed where the fireworks were stored, sparking a string of powerful explosions.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-04-11

[maingmoom]

The fireworks should never be stored, or a display let off any where near people. This is India and precaution doesn't seem to be taken seriously. R.I.P

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Is that really the building? over 100 killed, 380 injured?

How can you get that many people into a building that small?

[alantheembalmer]

Many years ago, I was in Delhi for the Diwali festival, and there were "fireworks" going off all over the city. However, they should have realistically been called explosive devices, judging by some of events I witnessed.

[Tywais]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em6MhrWVukg

[hoffy66]

Is that really the building? over 100 killed, 380 injured?

How can you get that many people into a building that small?

I think that building is where the stored fireworks were stored, i read that a spark did get into the building and set the other ones off, as to where the people were i am not sure.

[Stargeezr]

Another tragic story from a country where there are tragic stories almost every day.

Rapes go on like car crashes happen, and nothing changes. I also know that some supers bugs

in India are a big reason that I have not desires to travel there. I have had a couple of my friends die

after visiting there. They were quarintined and died quite quickly after that. My medical friends let

me know what the cause of death was after they had been told.

Sorry India but I will never visit there, unless the flight I am on is hijacked and I am forced to

land there, otherwise, no visits from me.

Geezer