In a tragedy of massive proportions, a huge fire broke out at Paravur’s Puttingal temple at Kollam in Kerala in the wee hours of Sunday during a temple festival, claiming at least 102 lives and leaving several others injured. 

A pack of firecrackers that landed on a firecracker shed during the fireworks display at 3:30 am is said to be the cause of the blaze. 

As the following pictures show, many concrete structures have come crashing down, crushing several people underneath.  A mound of rubble can be seen with an unknown number of people trapped beneath the debris. 

Cranes have been pressed into service to remove the mass of concrete and to search for any survivors.