At Least 50 Killed, 100 Injured in Fire at Temple in India
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MADRAS, India — At least 50 Hindu worshipers were killed and more than 100 injured Saturday when flames tore through an 11th century temple in southern India on the eve of a major religious ceremony, police said.
The blaze started when holy fire used for prayer ignited a thatched structure inside the famous Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur, about 175 miles southwest of Madras, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.
Police suspected that many worshipers burned to death while others died in a stampede to escape the flames and smoke.
State Director General of Police K. K. Rajasekaran said the death toll was expected to rise but that the precise number of dead was not likely to be known until daybreak today.
The fire knocked out electricity in the neighborhood, slowing rescue operations, authorities said.
Brihadeeswara, or “Big Temple,” was built by the Hindu king Rajaraja Chola and has been classified as a world architectural monument by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It was not immediately known how much damage the temple sustained in the fire.
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