Police said the toll was likely to go up further as some of the about 50 injured were stated to be in a serious condition at the Kottayam Medical College hospital.

Relief operations were going on in full swing under the supervision of state Health Minister A C Shanmugadas and several top police and civil officials.

The government also announced relief varying from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 to the families of victims.

So far 33 bodies had been identified and arrangements were being made by the authorities for despatching them to the home towns of the victims, a majority of whom were from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Arrangements were being made to embalm the bodies and keep them in Kottayam till they were claimed by relatives, hospital sources said.

According to police,the deceased included 41 men and nine children. The tragedy occurred at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala where lakhs of pilgrims had congregated last evening to witness Makarajyoti (celestial light) on the occasion of the Makarasankranti festival at the famous Lord Ayyappa temple.

Meanwhile, the Kerala authorities have displayed photographs of unidentified victims at the district hospital at Pathanamthitta.

According to a Tamil Nadu Government statement issued in Chennai this evening, these bodies have been kept in the mortuaries of the Government Medical College hospitals at Kottayam and Alappuzha.

Information regarding the victims could be had from the Government Hospital, Pathanamthitta, on telephone numbers 328300 and 323098, the District Collector, Pathanamthitta on 322505 and 322506 and from the office of the Superintendent of Police, Pathanamthitta on 322636 and 322600, the statement said.