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Fireworks Go Wrong at Kerala Temple in Southern India, Killing More Than 100 Fireworks Disaster at Kerala Temple in Southern India Kills More Than 100
(about 5 hours later)
MUMBAI, India — A series of explosions early Sunday caused by a fireworks display during a religious festival at a temple left 106 people dead and hundreds more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the local authorities said.MUMBAI, India — A series of explosions early Sunday caused by a fireworks display during a religious festival at a temple left 106 people dead and hundreds more injured in the southern Indian state of Kerala, the local authorities said.
P. T. Chacko, a spokesman for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of Kerala, said that the fireworks display had been specifically forbidden by officials in the district of Kollam but that the Puttingal temple had gone ahead anyway.P. T. Chacko, a spokesman for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of Kerala, said that the fireworks display had been specifically forbidden by officials in the district of Kollam but that the Puttingal temple had gone ahead anyway.
A firework landed in the building where the fireworks were being stored, setting off multiple explosions that leveled several buildings, killing and injuring people, K. Hari Kumar, a fire officer at the scene, said in a telephone interview.A firework landed in the building where the fireworks were being stored, setting off multiple explosions that leveled several buildings, killing and injuring people, K. Hari Kumar, a fire officer at the scene, said in a telephone interview.
“It was not a fire. It was one big blast, and after that many surrounding buildings and electrical lines collapsed,” Mr. Kumar said. “Fragments of the building with huge pieces of burnt crackers were flying all over,” said Rajendran, 36, a mason who goes by one name and had traveled with friends from his village 20 miles away to attend the festivities, which marked the start of the new year on the Hindu calendar.
“We all started scrambling for a safe place,” Mr. Rajendran said by telephone from his bed in an intensive care unit at the nearby Holy Cross Super Specialty Hospital, where he was taken with broken bones on his face and in one arm. His friends were so badly burned, he said, that he did not know if they would survive.
Public safety is a huge problem in India, where weak governance frequently results in the flouting of safety rules, leading to large numbers of fatalities. At least 26 people died and 89 were injured when an elevated highway under construction collapsed in late March in a crowded neighborhood in Kolkata.Public safety is a huge problem in India, where weak governance frequently results in the flouting of safety rules, leading to large numbers of fatalities. At least 26 people died and 89 were injured when an elevated highway under construction collapsed in late March in a crowded neighborhood in Kolkata.
K. M. Singh, a former member of the National Disaster Management Authority and a retired government bureaucrat, said public safety is not considered a high enough priority. Punishments for violating safety rules are not a sufficient deterrent, he added, because cases drag on for years in the overcrowded courts, and in the end the accused often do not get penalized. K. M. Singh, a former member of the National Disaster Management Authority and a retired government bureaucrat, said public safety is not considered a high enough priority. Punishments for violating safety rules are not a sufficient deterrent, he added, because cases drag on for years in the overcrowded courts, and in the end the accused often are not penalized.
“It needs a total mind-set change from top to bottom,” he said. “The situation will not change unless the government enforces the norms in a very undiluted manner and takes serious punitive action wherever there are violations.”“It needs a total mind-set change from top to bottom,” he said. “The situation will not change unless the government enforces the norms in a very undiluted manner and takes serious punitive action wherever there are violations.”
Hours after the temple explosions on Sunday, the police in Kerala opened an official criminal investigation into two top temple officials, Mr. Chacko said. The two officials, P. S. Jayalal, the temple president, and J. KrishnanKutty Pillai, the temple secretary, could not be reached immediately for comment. Fireworks have become increasingly popular at religious festivals in India, set off by children and adults in streets and in parking lots, as well as on temple grounds. Religious groups and temples, flush with donations, compete to create the loudest, brightest displays. Accidents are common, though the scale of devastation on Sunday was unusual.
Mr. Chacko said 106 people had died and 250 others were in hospitals being treated for burns. The medical officer of Kollam, Dr. C. R. Jaysankar, said falling concrete pieces, as a result of the explosions, caused many of the deaths. Hours after the explosions on Sunday, the police in Kerala opened an official criminal investigation of two top temple officials, Mr. Chacko said. The two officials, P. S. Jayalal, the temple president, and J. KrishnanKutty Pillai, the temple secretary, could not be reached immediately for comment.
Also on Sunday, the Kerala government ordered a judicial inquiry into the temple deaths, which must be completed within six months.
Mr. Chacko said 106 people had died and 383 others were in hospitals being treated for burns. The medical officer of Kollam, Dr. C. R. Jaysankar, said falling concrete pieces, as a result of the explosions, caused many of the deaths.
Some of the dead were burned so badly that they were unrecognizable, according to a statement from Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, which received some of the first victims.
Mr. Kumar, the fire officer, said the explosions began around 3 a.m., and rescue operations were still underway as of 9:30 a.m., with some people still trapped. The force of the explosions caused buildings and electrical lines to collapse as far as 50 feet away, he said.Mr. Kumar, the fire officer, said the explosions began around 3 a.m., and rescue operations were still underway as of 9:30 a.m., with some people still trapped. The force of the explosions caused buildings and electrical lines to collapse as far as 50 feet away, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on the incident on Twitter, saying, “Fire at temple in Kollam is heart-rending & shocking beyond words.” Television stations reported that the prime minister would visit the temple site Sunday. Neethu Reghukumar, a CNN-IBN television reporter at the scene, said by telephone that the fireworks were being set off in a small area next to the temple, surrounded by houses less than 300 feet away, when high-intensity fireworks being stored in a concrete building inside the temple premises caught fire after one of the fireworks landed there. It set off a huge explosion that brought down the building, and an adjacent building also collapsed, she said.
Many houses in the vicinity were damaged, their windows, doors and walls cracked, she said. The explosions also tore apart bodies, witnesses said in television interviews. One woman interviewed on CNN-IBN described finding body parts inside her house and on the roof.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented on the incident on Twitter, saying, “Fire at temple in Kollam is heart-rending & shocking beyond words.” Television stations showed Mr. Modi arriving in Kerala on Sunday afternoon and heading to visit the vicinity of the temple and victims in hospitals.
Puttingal temple, where the explosions occurred, lies in the coastal district of Kollam, about 40 miles from the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. Locals believe that a goddess appeared on an ant hill that is now the site of the Hindu temple.Puttingal temple, where the explosions occurred, lies in the coastal district of Kollam, about 40 miles from the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. Locals believe that a goddess appeared on an ant hill that is now the site of the Hindu temple.