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A crowd surge at a well-liked Hindu temple in southern India left not less than 12 folks lifeless and dozens injured, native authorities stated Saturday. The dying toll rose from 9 to 12 folks on Saturday, CBS Information confirmed.
The incident occurred on the Swamy Venkateswara Temple within the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh state the place a whole lot of devotees had gathered to mark certainly one of Hinduism’s sacred days, “Ekadashi,” senior police officer Ok. V. Maheswra Reddy instructed the Related Press.
On this present day, the devotees quick and provide prayers to Lord Vishnu, a key Hindu deity generally known as the preserver and protector of the universe, in accordance to BBC Information.
An preliminary investigation means that an iron grille meant to keep up the queue of worshippers on the temple broke, resulting in the uncontrolled crowd surge, Reddy stated.
Senior native authorities official Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar stated extra casualties had been feared. “Initially, we had experiences of seven deaths, however two extra folks have succumbed to their accidents, whereas the situation of two others is vital,” he stated.
Of the deceased, eight are girls and one is a baby, Pundkar stated, including that not less than 16 devotees injured within the crowd surge are being handled at an area hospital, whereas 20 others are in a state of shock and put beneath commentary at a special hospital.
Video footage on native media confirmed folks speeding to assist those that fainted within the crowd surge and had been gasping for breath. Some had been seen rubbing the palms of those that fell on the bottom.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh’s highest-elected official, N. Chandrababu Naidu, expressed grief and supplied their condolences to the households of the bereaved.
State authorities in Andhra Pradesh stated the placement was a personal temple on 12 acres of land and wasn’t beneath the management of the federal government administration. Regardless of its most capability of three,000, the gang swelled to round 25,000 on Saturday, officers stated.
“Preparations weren’t made accordingly, nor was info offered to the federal government by the involved particular person. That is the rationale for the accident,” the state’s fact-check unit stated in an announcement on social media.
Naidu vowed strict motion towards these accountable for the lethal stampede and ordered an inquiry into the incident, in response to native media.
Crowd surges at non secular gatherings should not unusual in India, the place large teams typically congregate at temples or pilgrimage websites, generally overwhelming native infrastructure and safety measures.
In July, a crowd surge at a well-liked Hindu temple in northern India left not less than six folks lifeless and dozens injured. No less than 30 folks died in January in the course of the Kumbh Mela pageant within the northern metropolis of Prayagraj. A month later, not less than 18 folks had been killed at a railway station in New Delhi whereas on the way in which to the pageant.
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