Prime Minister to visit Kollam shortly

Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will shortly visit Kollam where an accident during fireworks display at a temple claimed more than 100 lives.

Mr. Modi will be accompanied by a team of doctors and para medical staff. While Mr. Modi will reach Kollam by 3 pm, Rahul Gandhi is expected to reach Kollam by 4 pm.

Mr. Modi who will fly to Kollam from Thiruvananthapuram airport by helicopter will visit General Hospital, Kollam, where some of the victims have been admitted, and then go to the Guest House where he would hold discussions with State government officials.

Mr. Gandhi, who also arrives in Kollam by helicopter, will visit the accident site at Paravoor which is about 15 km from Kollam.

The Karnataka Government is sending a ten-member medical team with medicines and blood. The army and navy have already dispatched medical teams to Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. The military hospital here has been kept ready to receive patients.

The authorities have set up control rooms in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram to deal with the tragedy. The telephone numbers are the following: Thiruvananthapuram Central Control Room: (471) 2528300. Kollam Control Room: (471) 2794002.