The temple holds a competitive fireworks display every year in the last day of a seven-day festival honoring the goddess Bhadrakali, a southern Indian incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali, but this year, district authorities denied permission for the fireworks display.”It was complete chaos. People were screaming in the dark. Ambulance sirens went off, and in the darkness no one knew how to find their way out of the complex,” a resident of Paravoor village described what happened. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by doctors, was flying to Kerala to meet with the survivors and victims’ families. Fortunately, 75 percent of the fireworks were already burst before the explosion and fire. Prime Minister Narendra announced 200,000 rupees ($3,005) in compensation for the families of those killed and 50,000 rupees for those injured. The Kerala government ordered an inquiry into the cause of the disaster.
UPDATE
The blaze injured more than 380.
