The explosion was caused when the storehouse of the fireworks materials caught fire. Many of the injured died before they could reach a hospital.
At least 102 persons were killed and over 350 injured after a fire broke
out at the Paravur Puttingal Devi temple around 3:30 a.m on Sunday. The
fireworks ceremony was held as part of the annual festival of the
temple, near Kollam.
Over 100 victims are admitted to the district hospital in Kollam. Many
of the injured died before they could reach a hospital. Victims were
also admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and at
various private hospitals in Kollam.
The explosion was caused when the storehouse of the fireworks materials
caught fire. In the impact of the explosion, the office building of the
Travancore Devaswom Board near the storehouse was blown off.
Sparks which flew from the fireworks on display landed on the storehouse
and caused the explosion, preliminary reports say. There is a district
level ban on pyrotechnics at temples but these are held on the basis of
temporary permits annually. Such permits are given on religious
tradition grounds.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala are
visiting the scene. Rescue operations are being carried out under the
direct supervisions of the State Police Chief, T.P. Senkumar.
Live updates:
10: 00 am: The Prime Minister has announced ex-gratia of Rs. 2
lakh each to next of kin of those killed in temple firework disaster;
Rs. 50,000 for the injured.
09: 55 am: Death toll rises to 102.
09: 50 am: Emergency State Cabinet meeting to convened at 3 p.m. today to discuss the incident.
09: 45 am: Earlier in the day, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy said he will visit site at 11 a.m. today and decide on course of
action. "I have asked Chief Secretary to approach Election Commission
for permission to provide monetary relief to those affected," he
tweeted.
09: 30 am: Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala visits the disaster site in Kollam, says investigation is on.
09: 25 am: Raids conducted in the house of contractor Surendran, who supplied fireworks.
09: 15 am: The Medical College Hospital at Thiruvananthapuram is struggling to handle the influx of victims.
09: 10 am: Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan cancels poll campaign at Malampuzha in north Kerala, rushes to Kollam.
09: 00 am: More pictures are coming in from the site as authorities work to clear the debris.
Source: The Hindu
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon