IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE’VE REPORTED on a major fireworks ka-boom in Asia, but some folks in Pallipat, India, have got the firecracker season started. Friday night a wholesale firecracker warehouse opened up for some retail activity in preparation for the annual Diwali celebration, a major Hindu festival where people traditionally set off firecrackers and fireworks.
The shop was packed with customers when something caused a firework to ignite and it rapidly set the entire shop ablaze. Panic ensued and since there was only one exit, it was just moments before everybody was trapped inside the inferno. So far, at least 32 people are known to be dead, many of them burned beyond recognition.
CNN News reports:
S. Radhakrishnan, a Tamil Nadu state police official, said three people were arrested in connection with the Friday evening fire, including the owner of the building and the owner of the fireworks store in the town of Pallipat, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Chennai.
Radhakrishnan said the fireworks store had been denied a government license to operate and was doing business illegally. The owner’s father died recently and the shop had been closed for a few days, he said. A rush of customers were at the store when it re-opened just before Diwali.
CNN also filed this video report:
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