Kollam, April 11

Indian police said today they have filed initial charges against six people over a massive explosion during a banned fireworks display that killed over 100 people and left many more with horrific burns.

Thousands had packed into a Hindu temple in the southern state of Kerala on Saturday night for the show when a stray firework apparently landed on a stockpile of them, triggering a huge blast that tore through concrete buildings. Police said they were investigating who was responsible for holding the fireworks display even though authorities in Kerala’s Kollam district had refused permission for it.

The blast was strong enough to flatten a building in the temple complex and killed 109 people, with hundreds more still being treated for their injuries.

“A case was registered yesterday against six people,” said the head of Kerala police crime branch S Ananathakrishnan.

“Six people have been named in the case -- three from the temple committee, three who were contractors for the fireworks display.”

Initial charges against the six include culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he said.

None of the six has yet been arrested. Police said one was in hospital and the other five had gone missing.

Police also said they were questioning five temple workers involved in staging the fireworks display. They faced no charges at this stage.

Witnesses told how the force of the explosion sent concrete slabs and roof tiles slamming into the panicked crowd of onlookers in the early hours of Sunday.