Fire Outbreak Kills Over 80 In Indian Temple

An inferno, which engulfed a south Indian temple early Sunday has killed more than 80 people and injured at least 200 more, according to a top official.

According to an AFP report, the fire started when a spark from a fireworks show ignited a separate batch of fireworks that were being stored at the Puttingal temple complex in Paravoor village, a few hours north of Kerala’s state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, State Home Minister Ramesh Chennitala.

Thousands had been packed into the temple complex when a big explosion erupted around 3 a.m., officials said. The blaze then spread quickly through the temple, trapping devotees within.

At least 84 people were killed, said a Kerala police official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to give his name to journalists.

Local TV channels broadcast images of huge clouds of white smoke billowing from the temple, as fireworks were still going off in the night sky. Successive explosions from the building storing the fireworks sent huge chunks of concrete flying as far as a kilometer (a half mile), according to resident Jayashree Harikrishnan.
“Huge pieces of concrete were flying through the air. Chunks landed in our yard,” she said.

By morning, firefighters had brought the blaze under control, officials said. Rescuers were sifting through the wreckage in search of survivors, while backhoes were clearing the debris and ambulances ferried the injured to nearby hospitals.