20 booked, Kerala temple toll rises to 109

A day after the horrendous fireworks accident at Puttingal Devi temple in Paravur the death toll rose to 109, with three more persons succumbing to their injuries on Monday.

As many as 14 bodies in various hospitals in the district are yet to be identified. Three of these bodies will be sent for DNA testing. Twenty people, including the temple authorities, were charged by the police with attempt to murder under the IPC and under sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

The fire tragedy occurred when a cracker storehouse near the temple caught fire during an unauthorised fireworks display associated with the temple festival on Sunday morning.

The chief explosives controller, Sudarsan Kamal, who visited the site earlier on Monday, had found blatant violations of the stipulations prescribed under the law. He expressed concern over the huge amount of explosives stored there. It was beyond the permissible limit.

“The samples have been sent for further investigation. The usage of prohibited chemicals as explosives can be confirmed only after we get the results,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Crime Branch team under DGP S. Anandakrishnan also visited the spot for preliminary investigations.

The team is also probing the failure of the higher authorities, including the police officers, to prevent the accident even after the collector had issued a ban order.

A high-level meeting at the hospital decided to send unidentified body parts for DNA tests.

State health secretary K. Elangovan, who visited the patients at the district hospital in Kollam, reviewed the situation. He said there was no situation calling for the shifting of patients to other hospitals for treatment. A high-level meeting in his presence at the hospital decided to send unidentified body parts for DNA tests.

Doctors under Dr Peeyush from Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospitals in Delhi also visited the patients. A joint medical team, which will function 24x7, has been constituted at the hospital.

A medical team, including a psychologist and ENT specialist, has been deployed near the mishap site to provide assistance to the people. The district collector has ordered that drinking water be supplied to the neighbouring houses to avert problems caused by contaminated water.