Kollam temple fire: Fireworks send concrete missiles flying into homes

Paravur (Kerala): A firework display gone wrong at a Kerala temple killed at least 106 spectators and injured close to 300, the pre-dawn blast at the cracker storeroom sending concrete chunks smashing into nearby houses and killing a motorbike rider 1km away. Thousands had gathered at the Puttingal temple in Paravur town, 70km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, to watch its centuries-old annual firework festival that began past midnight on Sunday.

Around 60 metres from the temple, the house of octogenarian Pankajakshi Amma shows the impact of the explosion. It was on Pankajakshi Amma’s complaint that the collector had apparently denied permission to the firework display. As in every year during the firework display, this time too she and her family had moved to another house. Pictures by Ananthakrishnan G

The tragedy, the second to hit a poll-bound state after a flyover collapse killed 26 in Calcutta last week, happened just as a pickup had arrived with a fresh cache of crackers around 3.10am, an eyewitness said. "As the crackers were being taken inside one of the temple's two firework stores, an unexploded firework from the display, the kind supposed to burst in the air and form a sunflower pattern, landed near the store and went off," said Manoj Mohanan, a mechanic. "Sparks from it fell on the fresh load of crackers and a huge blast followed. Then the crackers stocked inside the storeroom too went off." "I saw a huge fireball and then a thunderous sound," Lalu, a TV journalist watching from the terrace of a nearby building, told PTI. "The electricity went off and I heard people screaming."

Concrete debris near a damaged building on the temple premises in Kollam, Kerala. (PTI)

Flying missiles of concrete hit bystanders and ripped through the walls of houses, one of them slaying Chandra Kumar and leaving his motorbike overturned 1km away. Windowpanes and mirrors shattered in nearby houses, one of which had its ceiling torn off.

The temple had only its roof damaged but the storeroom 30 metres to its left (if you stand facing the shrine) and the administrative office a further five metres away were blown to smithereens. The temple's presiding deity is Bhadra Kali, a version of Goddess Durga. The shrine is administered by a private trust representing the Ezhava community. Many temples in Kerala vie with one another to hold firework displays, with designated judges picking the winners. Two questions rose from the rubble this morning. One, did an attempt to scale the event down, ironically, make it more chaotic and lead to the stray cracker hitting the fresh pile? Two, did the shrine authorities not formally obtain permission for the event this year? Pankajakshi Amma, a retired teacher in her 80s who lives nearby, had petitioned the collector on April 2 to order the event to be scaled down because it had been damaging her house. Her son-in-law Prakash said an official recorded his statement the next day. It seems the district administration then rejected the temple's routine application for permission to hold the "competitive" firework display. Traditionally, two designated "expert firework players" compete in bursting the crackers while the spectators divide into two sets of rival fans.

After the administration's rejection, it appears the temple authorities sought permission for a non-competitive display. Different district officials gave conflicting replies when asked whether permission was eventually given. Eyewitnesses mentioned a police presence to control the crowd, implying the administration did not try to stop the display. There was no competition last night, with just one of the experts bursting all the crackers. Some local people said a competitive event would have been "safer" as the crackers would have been burst one at a time with the contestants taking turns. "Last night, they were burst indiscriminately, at one go," a resident said. Chief minister Oommen Chandy said the district administration had denied permission for the event and "even to store the fireworks". State home minister Ramesh Chennithala said a case for illegal possession of explosives had been registered against the temple. The state government has decided on a judicial inquiry by a retired high court judge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met some of the injured at the general hospital here. Union health minister J.P. Nadda is staying back to oversee relief efforts. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi too paid a visit. Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed his sympathies to President Pranab Mukherjee and Modi. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif too made a condolence call to Modi. Sunday's tragedy has cast a cloud over the famous Pooram festival in Thrissur where temple firework shows are a big attraction. The weeklong festival in Thrissur begins tomorrow, with the firework scheduled for April 17. The district administration will meet all stakeholders and may restrict the amount of crackers to be used.