Fireworks accident kills 102 at temple site in India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India — The Hindu temple in southern India was packed with thousands for a religious festival early Sunday when the fireworks began — an unauthorized 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 37 miles south of Paravoor.

The temple holds a competitive fireworks show every year, with different groups putting on displays for thousands gathered for the end of a sevenday festival honoring the Hindu goddess Bhadrakali. 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.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in from New Delhi to help establish measures to help the survivors. Modi was accompanied by a team of doctors and burn specialists who will stay on to help treat the injured, officials said.