13 held in connection with fireworks explosion at temple in India
NEW DELHI — Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with the explosions that killed more than 100 during a fireworks display at a temple in southern India over the weekend, the Press Trust of India said Tuesday.
T.F. Xavier, a police superintendent for Kerala, the state where the disaster occurred, said seven were officials at the Puttingal temple in the coastal district of Kollam, which hosted the fireworks display to celebrate the start of the new year on the Hindu calendar.
The death toll from the blasts on Sunday has risen to 112, with nearly 400 people injured, P.T. Chacko, the spokesman for Kerala’s chief minister, Oommen Chandy, said Tuesday.