Kerala temple fire witness: I saw my colleague die

Dubai - Rescue operations were difficult in the initial hours, says Sunil, a policeman who was on duty at the temple festival site in Kollam

"It all happened in 10-15 seconds. It was just like a huge fire bomb," says Sunil, a policeman who was on duty at the temple festival site in Kollam, Kerala, where more than 110 people were killed in a fireworks blast on Sunday.
Sunil lost a colleague, Saji Sebastian, in the tragedy.
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Saji and another policeman were on duty near the ill-fated store where the materials for the fireworks were kept.

"When the blast happened, all the power went off and we couldn't understand the impact of it. Saji and the other policeman lied down as they realised what is happening. But after the blast, as we called him he was motionless," said Sunil to Khaleej Times on phone while he was on duty at the district hospital in Kollam, where more than hundred injured people are being treated.
There was no visible injury or burns on the body of the deceased policeman, other than a small scar on the face, says his colleague, adding that the reason of the death could be a heart attack caused because of the intensity of the loud blast.
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"Rescue operations were difficult in the initial hours," said another policeman, who didn't want to reveal his name. "Concrete pieces from the storeroom were blown away even to a distance of one kilometer. But as soon as we realised the intensity of the tragedy, the rescue operations were started. We used all the available vehicles including police vans, private buses and others to shift people to the hospitals," he added.
All the hospitals in Kollam are filled with people injured in the accident. Most of them sustained fractures and other injuries because of the blown away concrete pieces and materials."
 

• India