THANJAVUR, June 8: The site of the inferno at the big temple here which resulted in the death of 39 devotees was a pitiable scene today posing several unanswered questions as officials on Sunday, continued to search for reasons behind the mishap.

Located in the outer prakaram of the temple, the yagasala presented a pathetic sight on Sunday morning, the day originally fixed for the mahakumbabhishekam. The entire pandal was strewn with charred, twisted and blackened beams with even loudspeakers and kalasams meant for the ceremony having melted in the intense heat.A tattered bit of thatch and three loudspeakers was all that was left intact as the blaze is said to have consumed the entire premises within minutes.

The entire premises was strewn with plastic water bottles, slippers, hand bags and tiffin boxes. While the entire pandal covering nearly 1000 square metres was consumed, a police outpost in a thatched room and DoT communication centre remained unscathed though they were located less than 100 feet away from the site. Credit goes to the police who, on seeing the fire, immediately locked the inner prakaram doors to prevent people from within straying into the affected area and increasing panic. If this was not done, the death toll would have been higher, Jagan Seshadri, IG (Operations), who was present during the blaze said.

Voluntary organisations including the Red Cross cooperated with officials in forming a human chain from the temple to the bus stand thereby preventing any onlookers from entering the temple premises, officials said.

Police further added that most of the victims succumbed not because of burns but due to asphyxiation and the stampede which followed, when a strong wind fanned the flames.

Of the 87 injured, only 51 suffered burns while the rest suffered abrasions. Police involved in the rescue operations said that most victims were elderly women and were not able to move away quickly from the scene. Most of the victims were seated around the yagasalas listening to devotional hymns. An elderly oduvar who was singing the hymns and was practically in the middle of the blaze was not affected, while his wife who was seated nearby perished.The dead at the site included 28 women, 4 men and 5 children.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.