ISLAMABAD/ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, April 10: Pakistan on Sunday has expressed deep condolences on Indian temple tragedy in which 120 people were killed and over 350 others injured on Sunday.
According to the issued by Spokesman of the Foreign Office Muhammad Nafees Zakaria “the people and the government of Pakistan express their deep condolences on the loss of precious lives, resulting from fire breakout in the temple in South Kerala, India. “Our sympathies are with the bereaved families. We wish early recovery to all injured people” he said.
Earlier, a massive fire swept through a temple in India’s southern Kerala state on Sunday, killing 120 people and injuring more than 350 who had gathered for a fireworks display to mark the start of the local Hindu new year. Thousands of devotees had packed into the Puttingal Devi temple in the coastal district of Kollam. The fireworks display began at midnight and went on for hours. The fire started when one of the crackers fell onto a shed where the fireworks were stored, said residents near the temple site, about 70 km from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Kollam with a team of doctors to help state authorities cope with the large number of injured people, moving swiftly to pre-empt criticism over lack of public safety. Modi has faced public criticism in the past for failing to respond quickly to disasters such as the floods in Chennai late last year. Narendra Modi has announced Rs 200000 for heirs of the diseased families. Large parts of the metropolis were under water for days before government help arrived. The federal government also ordered the military to help the Kerala state authorities with two navy ships sailing to Kollam with medical supplies. With Kerala in the midst of an election for a new state assembly, the temple fire quickly turned into a political issue as local leaders demanded an investigation into the fireworks display. Police has registered a case against the temple authorities for negligence. The temple trust was not immediately available for comment. Kerala is studded with temples, managed by rich and powerful trusts that often flout local regulations. Each year temples carry out fireworks displays, often competing to stage the most spectacular ones. There are judges who decide the winners.
The explosion from the fireworks was so strong that some parts of the temple roof caved in. Local media showed bulldozers trying to clear the area of the debris. The Puttingal temple is one of the oldest in the state. It was built on the site of an ant hill where locals believe a goddess appeared centuries ago.-SABAH
