UPDATE 14:08 p.m. IST -- The local police have registered a case against 25 people following the temple fire, including 15 temple committee members and 2 firework contractors, according to ANI news agency.
UPDATE: 11:35 a.m. IST -- The death toll from the Kerala temple tragedy has risen to 109, with 382 people injured, ANI news agency reported Monday, citing state officials.
Original story:
Five people were detained for the fireworks in Kerala's Kollam district that engulfed a Hindu temple in flames and left over 100 people dead Sunday. The fireworks were set off in the 100-year-old Puttingal Devi Temple complex, despite there being no permission for the traditional show.
The huge fire started in the early hours of Sunday when sparks fell on a building where firecrackers had been stored. The explosion brought down the two-storey building and set off a fire at the temple where hundreds had gathered. According to some reports, nearly 10,000 people were gathered near the site. Over 300 people were injured.
A Crime Branch investigation and a judicial probe were announced by Kerala's Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, according to the Press Trust of India. The police registered a case of culpable homicide against the temple officials, who reportedly went missing soon after the incident. Five people were detained late Sunday, according to the Times of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site in Kollam Sunday and described the incident as "heart-rending" and "shocking."
Survivors described horrific scenes of death and chaos following the temple fire. "There were body parts on the floor and on the roof there was an arm," a resident told Reuters.
Several people were killed by pieces of concrete that went flying as the building collapsed due to the explosion. "Before we could realise what had happened, my friend, Jayan, was lying in a pool of blood next to me. A piece of concrete slab had hit his head," a survivor told Hindustan Times.
Accidents linked to fireworks have killed scores in Kerala, with over 450 people dying in such incidents in the last three years, according to the Times of India.
