El Siglo Futuro - India temple firework explosion injures over 150

Hundreds were crowded around a Hindu temple at Nileshwaram in the southern state of Kerala on Monday evening to watch the fireworks, videos posted by Indian newspapers showed.

Then, from inside a building, a surge of crackles can be heard, before a powerful ball of flame surges high into the sky.

"Around eight people are critical, and around 154 have been reported injured, out of which 97 people are admitted in hospital," local police chief Shilpa Dyavaiah told AFP.

"They burst firecrackers very close to the place where they have stored the firecrackers," Dyavaiah said, adding that sparks from the burst crackers reached the cache.

Indian media reports, citing officials, said the blaze caused burns to the faces and hands of those in tightly packed crowd.

Local government official K. Inbasekhar said no permission had been given for the fireworks show.

The temple president and secretary had been taken into custody, The Hindu newspaper reported.

Religious gatherings in India have a grim track record of deadly incidents caused by safety lapses and poor crowd management.

In 2016, at least 112 people were killed after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display at a temple marking the Hindu new year.

India is readying for its major fireworks season, a traditional celebration for the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, later this week.

The spectacular and colourful festival celebrates the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and symbolises the victory of light over darkness.

The fireworks also spew hazardous acrid smoke, and the capital New Delhi has banned firecrackers to curb hazardous air pollution.

Police are often reluctant to act against violators, given the strong religious sentiments attached to the crackers by Hindu devotees.

A.Fernández--ESF