Six people die in a stampede at India’s Tirupati temple as thousands seek entry Religious news
Dozens of others were injured after thousands of devotees queued outside one of the most visited Hindu temples in southern India.
At least six people were crushed to death and dozens injured as a crowd swelled at one of the most visited Hindu religious sites in the city of Tirupati in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
A huge crowd gathered to collect free tickets to visit the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in the city when a stampede took place on Wednesday night.
“The unfortunate incident … claimed the lives of six devotees. I pray to God to grant peace to the departed souls,” Prem Kumar Jain, spokesperson of the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the state, told reporters.
From the early hours of Wednesday morning, devotees from all over India began gathering for the 10-day festival at the temple, which begins on Friday.
Authorities have since Thursday set up counters to distribute free tokens to visit the nearly 2,000-year-old temple, but the crowds have been pushing and shoving, according to the office of N Chandrababu Naidu, the state’s chief minister.
In a post on X, Naidu said the deaths “made me very sad”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.
“My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones,” his office posted on social media platform X.
Fatal accidents are common at places of worship in India during major religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses.
In July last year, up to 121 people were killed The city of Hathras the northern state of Uttar Pradesh during a Hindu religious gathering.
Another 112 people died in 2016 after a a huge explosion caused by prohibited fireworks marking the Hindu New Year at a temple in the southern state of Kerala.
Wednesday’s incident happened a few days before kick-off Kumbh Melaa six-week Hindu festival of prayer and holy bathing that is expected to be the largest religious gathering in history. According to the organizers, the arrival of up to 400 million pilgrims is expected.
