Story highlights
NEW: The death toll from a fireworks disaster rises to 109
"People were running everywhere, and burnt bodies were on the ground," a witness says
Police: The temple did not have permission for the fireworks celebration
At least 10 people associated with a temple that went up in flames early Sunday, killing more than 100, are on the run, authorities said.
Police are looking for the individuals in relation to the fireworks accident at the Puttingal temple in the southern Indian city of Kollam, police spokesman Anantha Krishnean told CNN.
More than 500 people were injured and 109 were killed after an errant firework ignited a stockpile of other fireworks at the temple, causing a larger blaze.
The temple, which was celebrating the Hindu new year over Saturday night into Sunday, has a long history of using fireworks in celebrations, sometimes setting off pyrotechnics that appear low to the ground.
The temple did not have permission for the fireworks celebration, police official M.S. Santosh said.
Five workers from the company that supplied fireworks to the temple have been detained, Kollam Commissioner of Police P. Prakash told CNN.
The inferno destroyed a temple office building and a storage shed while also damaging nearby houses. The temple’s main shrine was not severely damaged.
