At least 150 persons were injured after fireworks exploded during a festival at the Anjootambalam Veerakavu temple in Kerala’s Kasaragod district on Monday night, The Indian Express reported.

Nine of them suffered serious injuries. Ninety-seven persons were admitted to hospitals across the district.

The explosion at the fireworks storage unit of the temple in Neeleswaram took place during the annual kaliyattam ritual, also known as theyyam. The event was attended by thousands of persons, the newspaper quoted the police as saying.

The police registered a case and detained the president and the secretary of the Anjootambalam Veerarkavu Committee, South First reported.

Investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion.

District Collector K Inbasekar said that the temple authorities did not have permission to light fireworks, The Indian Express reported.