More than 150 people were injured in a fireworks explosion at a temple in India.

MUMBAI: Indian police detained two people on Tuesday (October 29) after fireworks at a temple exploded, leaving nearly 100 people in hospital, eight of whom are in critical condition.

Hundreds of people gathered around a Hindu temple in Nileshwaram in the southern state of Kerala on Monday evening to watch fireworks, videos published by Indian newspapers showed.

A cracking sound can then be heard from inside the building before a powerful fireball shoots high into the sky.

“About eight people are in critical condition, about 154 were injured, of whom 97 were hospitalized,” local police chief Shilpa Diawaya told AFP.

“They exploded firecrackers very close to where they kept the firecrackers,” Diavaya said, adding that sparks from the exploding firecrackers reached the hiding place.

Indian media, citing officials, reported that the fire caused burns to the faces and hands of people in the close crowd.