At least three people were killed and nearly 50 injured in a stampede at a major Hindu festival in eastern India on Sunday morning.
The incident took place at around 4.30am local time as a large crowd gathered for darshan, or ceremonial viewing, of the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra during the annual Rath Yatra in the city of Puri, India Today reported.
Puri collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said the crowd swelled near Saradhabali, directly in front of the Gundicha temple, and suddenly went out of control, causing the stampede.
The injured devotees were taken to the Puri District Hospital and at least six of them remained in critical condition.
The victims – Basanti Sahu, Prabhati Das and Premakant Mohanty – were all from Khurda district, about 60km from Puri. Their bodies had been sent for autopsies, Mr Swain said.
On Friday, more than 600 devotees required medical assistance as a massive crowd gathered amid intense heat near the Balagandi area, where one of the three ceremonial chariots became stuck for over an hour.
The Rath Yatra, also known as the Chariot Festival, is one of the most important Hindu festivals in India and draws over a million people to Puri each year.
It celebrates the annual journey of Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra from the main Jagannath temple in the city to the nearby shrine of Gundicha.
The deities are transported on giant, handcrafted wooden chariots pulled by thousands of worshippers. The deities stay at the Gundicha temple for several days before returning to the main shrine. The return is marked by another procession and the festival ends with a ceremony called Niladri Vijaya where the chariots are taken apart until the following year.
More than a million devotees had gathered in Puri by Saturday, NDTV quoted Sanjay Kumar, the additional director general of police, as saying.
Puri chief medical officer Dr Kishore Satapathy said the majority of the patients on Friday were treated at outpatient clinics and later discharged.
Odisha health minister Mukesh Mahaling said “the oppressive climate during the procession” played a major role in the spike in medical cases, PTI news agency reported.
As many as 625 people were treated for heat-related illnesses and injuries on Friday, PTI said. Nearly 70 devotees remained hospitalised as of Saturday, according to local authorities.
Much of Friday’s unrest centred on Balabhadra’s chariot, Taladhwaja, which got stuck while navigating a tight street corner. The delay caused a bottleneck which intensified as thousands of people surged forward to continue the age-old tradition of pulling the towering wooden chariots with ropes. In the crush, many devotees entered restricted zones, making movement increasingly difficult.
Ambulances stationed at the 12th-century Jagannath temple transported the injured pilgrims to nearby medical centres. Volunteers from public and private groups assisted in rescue and evacuation efforts.
