India temple firework explosion injures over 150

MUMBAI - Indian police detained two people on Oct 29 after a temple fireworks show erupted into a ferocious explosion, leaving almost a hundred people in hospital, eight in a critical condition.

- Ashraf Khan

Hundreds were crowded around a Hindu temple at Nileshwaram in the southern state of Kerala on the evening of Oct 28 to watch the fireworks, videos posted by Indian newspapers showed.

Then, from inside a building, a surge of crackles could be heard, before a powerful ball of flame surged 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.