Charred bodies and human remains lay strewn in one of the worst tragedies to strike Kerala, as a fireworks show went out of control killing over 110 people on the spot and maiming over 383 at a temple in Kollam.
Disaster struck the crowded premises of the Puttingal Devi Temple at Paravur, south of Kollam, around 3.30 am, when a whole dump of firecrackers meant to explode in the air, fell to the ground sending sparks flying in all directions. The damage worsened when sparks reached a storehouse 'Kambapura', igniting crackers stored in the building too.
The show that was meant to mark the conclusion of the Meena-Bharani festival turned into an instant arena of chaos and destruction as the embers spread through the nearby areas as well. The explosions also ripped chunks of concrete and plaster from the temple and nearby buildings. An entire building was brought down and several people rendered homeless in the vicinity. Troubles were aggravated by power disruption that followed which, incidentally, kept the crowd in dark about the massive scale of destruction.
Quick on their feet, locals however, began to extricate bodies from the debris and pulled out the injured, most of whom did not survive their way to medical attention.
Kerala Government has announced a judicial inquiry and a Crime Branch investigation into the series of events. While majority of the injured were admitted to the general hospital and private hospitals in Kollam city, 12 were rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and to some private hospitals in the capital. As the locals and the rescue teams tended to the injured, the administrative officers played the blame game, with the buck stopping right on the netas' doorsteps.
It has been known that the Kollam district administration had denied permission for the fireworks display based on reports from the local police that the temple committee planned to organise a competitive pyrotechnic displays. People from neighbouring districts had flocked to witness the show.
“It was just like somebody had dropped a massive bomb inside the house. The roof of our house has now collapsed due to its impact. When we came back it was a horrible sight. We broke down. We were speechless. Body parts were strewn all around. A limb was hanging from the broken wall. Everything was smashed,” said Anita Prakash an eyewitness and resident of the United Kingdom who was vacationing in the district.
“My mother had complained to the Kollam Collector. She had visited the spot. We heard that the fireworks had been banned. Half a dozen angry men from the temple came to our house and abused us. They cursed us and swore at us. They said that all of us should die. They forced us to tell the Collector that we have no objection to the fireworks. But, we refused to do so. It was an illegal act.”
She and her family were asked to go away from their houses as part of safety measures, which ended up saving their lives.
District Collector A Shainamol said “no permission for any kind of fireworks” was given. She said the temple authorities had asked for permission to conduct competitive fireworks show which was denied. For normal fireworks, no permission was sought and hence there was no question of granting it, the DC said.
Police sources said a case has been registered against 20 people, including temple managing committee members and contractors of the fireworks display that turned into disaster and 13 people, including seven members of the temple authorities were arrested. The Central government rushed the chief controller of explosives safety organisation PESO to check for any illegal usage of crackers or explosives at the temple.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has promised the best medical care for the injured, promising they would be shifted to whichever hospitals their relatives wanted.
“The government will take care of all the medical expenses,” he said. “Strong measures are needed to regulate such fireworks display and everyone should cooperate. This accident should be an eye-opener. Strong guidelines have to brought in and steps taken to ensure that they are implemented,” Chandy said.
Karnataka government said it would send a 10-member medical team with drugs and blood to provide relief to victims of the tragedy. Relief actions included a total of 10 transport aircraft and helicopters, all deployed in Air Ambulance role to ferry the victims. National Disaster Response Force teams from Arakkonam near Chennai, along with medical teams, were also pressed into service. The Indian Navy also helped by deputing three Naval ships; INS Kabra, Kalpeni and INS Sukanya with medical stores to Kollam coast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled all his programmes and rushed to Kollam with a team of medical experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences to provide medical help to the needy.
