In one of the worst tragedies to hit Kerala, about 105 people were killed and 300 injured in an explosion and fire that occurred at Puttingal Devi Temple at Paravur in Kollam district on Sunday around 3.30 am during a fireworks display for which the district authorities had denied permission.
After emergency meeting of the State Cabinet held in Kollam on Sunday afternoon, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the media that
103 people had been killed. However, unofficial reports put the toll at 105. Some reports even claimed 110 dead.
Sources said the toll could still go up as the condition of several of the injured was critical. As of late Sunday evening, 22 bodies were yet to be identified. Scientific examinations would be carried out to identify the unclaimed bodies, the Chief Minister said. The injured were admitted to various hospitals in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
The tragedy struck during a fireworks display associated with the festival at the temple, located some 75 km away
from the State capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The pyrotechnic show, an event held as a competition between two rival groups participating in the festival for which thousands had gathered, had started on Saturday at 11.45 pm.
According to eyewitnesses and police, the accident occurred when a half-exploded explosive projectile, called Amittu in Malayalam, fell on the Kambappura, the storeroom for the explosives meant for the display, causing an instant blast with deafening noise, the waves of which were felt at places as far away as a kilometre from the temple.
The Kambappura and the adjoining building of the Devaswom Board, the temple administration body, were pulverised in the blast while the temple and hundreds of other buildings in the vicinity suffered extensive damage. Charred and mutilated bodies and human remains were strewn around the temple complex.
The police registered a case for manslaughter against the licencee, Surendran, who was the contractor for the fireworks display, and took into fireworks after Cracker carnage custody five of his workers after raids at his storerooms, shops and workshops at Kazhakkoottam, Thiruvananthapuram. As per reports, the contractor’s explosives licence had expired on March 31 and it had not been renewed.
Surendran had licence to store only about 15 kg but he stored about 150 kg of crackers and fireworks material at the storehouse without valid permission, police said.
Octogenarian Pankajakshi Amma, on whose complaint the Kollam Collector had denied permission to Puttingal Devi temple authorities to conduct the fireworks display, said she would continue her fight and resort to legal steps to ensure a total ban.
A massive rescue exercise was launched using earth-moving machines, ambulances and even private buses, as the temple premises remained under total darkness as the blast had caused the electric supply to be cut off. Most of the deaths were caused by the fire and concrete blocks flying off the buildings in the impact of the blast.
Various Government and non-Government agencies joined the post-accident efforts to deal with the situation. The Indian Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard joined the exercise by dispatching their medical, paramedical and other personnel and pressing into service aircraft, ships and boats. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the State Government that services of two helicopters would be made available immediately. Arrangements were also made to press into service air ambulances foreseeing the possible need of shifting the critically injured to specialist hospitals in far away cities.