A fireworks explosion injures more than 150 people at a temple in India

NEW DELHI – A massive fireworks explosion injured more than 150 people during a religious festival at a temple in southern India, a report said Tuesday.

The explosion occurred on Monday evening when a fireworks warehouse near the Veerarkavu temple caught fire, the Press Trust of India reported, citing the police. The incident occurred in Kasargod, located almost 580 kilometers (360 miles) northwest of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state.

The injured were treated at various hospitals in Kasargod, Kannur and Mangaluru districts. Eight of them suffered serious injuries.

In India, there is a huge demand for firecrackers which are used during religious festivals and weddings. Fatal accidents occur almost every year when people work in makeshift factories without adequate safety measures.

Last July, an explosion at a fireworks factory in southern India killed eight people. In 2018, a massive fire at a firecracker factory in New Delhi killed 17 workers. A year earlier, an explosion killed 23 people while making firecrackers in a village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.