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Six Dead in India Temple Stampede

At least six people were crushed to death and several others injured during a stampede at a Hindu religious gathering in India, officials confirmed on Thursday. The incident occurred on Wednesday when a large crowd had gathered to collect entrance tokens for a visit to the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Prem Kumar Jain, a spokesman for the state’s ruling Telugu Desam Party, expressed his condolences, saying, “The unfortunate incident has claimed the lives of six devotees. I pray to God to grant peace to the departed souls.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his condolences to the families of the deceased, stating on social media platform X, “My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones.”

Stampedes during religious events are unfortunately common in India, often attributed to poor crowd management and safety shortcomings. In July of last year, 121 people were killed in a similar incident during a Hindu religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh state. In 2016, a banned fireworks display marking the Hindu New Year at a temple in Kerala led to an explosion that killed 112 people.

The tragedy comes just days before the start of the Kumbh Mela, a six-week Hindu festival of prayer and sacred bathing, which is expected to be the largest religious gathering in history, with up to 400 million pilgrims anticipated to attend, according to organizers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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