Officials said on Sunday that a stampede at a popular Hindu temple in Northern India killed at least six people.
According to DW Tally, the crush was at least the seventh major stampede in India so far this year, including a single cricket stadium in Bengaluru in June. The incidents resulted in over 70 deaths.
What do we know about Haridwar stampede?
The incident took place at the Mansa Devi temple in the northern city of Haridwar, the northern city of the northern state, which was on a 5 -hour drive from the country’s capital New Delhi.
The crush allegedly began at a local time (0300 UTC) at around 8.30 am (0300 UTC), which caused panic between a large group of devotees.
Officials believe that the crush could be triggered by a rumor, times of India Informed
Haridwar Police official Parmendra Dabal told the AFP news agency that six people were killed and more than 10 were injured.
times of India Citing local authorities, place the number of injured on 34.
Vinay Shankar Pandey, a senior government official of Uttarakhand state, recalled how the worshiper had scrambled for security after the incident.
“The situation is now under control,” Pandey told Associated Press by phone from Haridwar. “But nervousness led the sad consent.”
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote on X that the local police and other rescuers had reached the spot and were engaged in relief and rescue operations.
The injured were taken to the local hospital, the Indian news agency ANI reported.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims and their families in the social media post.
What is the importance of Haridwar for Hindus?
Local authorities said that thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the Hiltop temple, a major site for Hindu devotees, which is uniquely on the weekend and the day of the festival.
Haridwar is an ancient city and is considered a sacred place, where the Ganges river exits the foothills of the Himalayas.
Deadly Stamped and crowd crush is a common phenomenon in India.
In January, 30 people died in the Maha Kumbh Hindu Festival in January as millions of people gathered to take a dip in holy water.
In June, there was a sudden increase in crowd on a Hindu festival in the coastal state of Odisha, killing at least three people and injuring several others.
So in June, 11 people were killed and injured in dozens of crowds during the celebration of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s victory in Premier League cricket.
Last month, six people were killed in the western state of Goa, thousands of people gathered for a popular fire ritual.
Edited by: saim dusan inayatullah
