Tremors felt a km away; charred bodies all over

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 said.

The concrete building in which crackers and pyrotechnic materials were stocked was completely destroyed in the explosion which was so massive that cement slabs were found even 10 metres away from the accident spot, said 63-year-old Vijayan, an eyewitness.

A building of the temple office was also compeltely gutted, he said. He said he saw bodies burnt beyond recognition, slippers of the dead and injured and concrete slabs strewn near the temple precints.