At least 6 individuals lost their lives and dozens sustained injuries during a stampede on Wednesday (8 January) at the entrance of a temple in southern India, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The stampede transpired as police officers opened the gates of the temple, reports the AP citing temple chairman BR Naidu.
Devotees from across India had gathered for a 10-day festival at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, located in Tirupati town, Andhra Pradesh state.
Fatal stampedes are not uncommon during Indian religious festivals, which often attract large crowds to confined spaces with inadequate infrastructure and minimal safety provisions.
In a similar incident in July, at least 116 people, predominantly women and children, perished when a religious gathering in Hathras town, northern India, led to a stampede at a tent.
N Chandrababu Naidu, the state’s chief minister, expressed his profound grief over the incident in a post on X, stating, “The latest deaths have grieved me intensely.”
