At around 3.30 AM, there was a massive explosion followed by tremors which were felt even a kilometre away from the 100-year-old Puttingal Devi temple near here as a massive fire tragedy struck there.
This was the account of Girija who said such an incident had never occurred earlier.
Giving an account of her experience, Girija, whose house is situated about a kilometre away from the temple, said she felt tremors soon after a massive explosion.
The mishap due to the display of fireworks occurred on the last day of the seven-day 'Meena Bharani' festivities.
Thousands of people had gathered at the temple precincts to witness the fireworks display underway since midnight when the blaze erupted at around 3.30 AM.
The mishap occurred as sparks of the fireworks fell on the store room 'Kambapura' and the fire crackers kept there exploded with a deafening noise.
Lalu, a television journalist who was watching the fireworks from the terrace of a nearby building, said the mishap occurred towards the end of the festivities.
"I saw a huge fireball and then a thundering sound. Electricity in the area went off and I heard people screaming. It was a very chilling experience," he said.
Lalu said he immediately rushed to the spot and found about 10-15 people dead.
Charred bodies and human remains were strewn around the temple complex after the fire tragedy.
Raju, a local resident staying near the temple, said he
heard a massive sound and a huge ball of fire.
He immediately rushed to the spot and found bodies strewn all over, as also blood stained clothes and footwear, he told a
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The impact of the explosion was such that concrete chunks were found strewn even 500 metres away from the mishap spot.
An eyewitness Balaji said one of two youngsters sitting on a motorbike died on the spot and another was seriously injured when a portion of a concrete slab fell on them.
Several buildings, including a medical shop, suffered extensive damage, he said.
73-year-old Panjakshiamma, who had filed a complaint before the District Collector against permitting the temple authorities from conducting the fireworks display, said her house had suffered massive damage in the explosion.
"Our house is very near the temple. Every year there is some damage or the other and so we had filed a complaint against holding of the fireworks display".
The woman and her daughter said their house had suffered severe damage in the impact of the explosion.
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Of the 126 persons, who were brought to
Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, 13 died and eight have been identified so far.
Those identified are Vishnu Datt (18), Saju (24), Pramod (29), Pradeep Anil (50), Sethubabu (42), Njanasundaram (53), Anil (35)and Vishnu Vijayan (25), according to an official press release.
The others are yet to be identified, it said.
Of the injured, the condition of 12 was extremely critical, the release added.
