NEW DELHI (AP) — Three people were killed and more than a dozen hospitalized Sunday following a sudden crowd surge at a popular Hindu festival in eastern India, a senior government official said.
“There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the Hindu deities during which few people either fainted, felt suffocated or complained of breathlessness,” said Siddharth Shankar Swain, the top government official in Puri.
Swain told The Associated Press that 15 people were rushed to a local government hospital, where three people were pronounced dead and the other 12 were discharged. Autopsies are planned for the deceased to determine the exact cause of death.
Tens of thousands of devotees gathered in the coastal town early Sunday at Shree Gundicha Temple near the famous Jagannatha Temple to catch a glimpse of the deities onboard three chariots, Swain said.
The coastal temple town of Puri comes alive each year with the grand “Rath Yatra,” or chariot festival, in one of the world’s oldest and largest religious processions. The centuries-old festival involves Hindu deities being taken out of the temple and driven in colorfully decorated chariots.
The festival is one of Hinduism’s most revered events and draws hundreds of thousands of devotees annually from across India and the world.
Naveen Patnaik, a former top elected official of Odisha state where Puri is located, said in a social media post that “no government machinery (was) present to manage the surging crowds, highlighting a shocking lapse in duty.”
“While I refrain from accusing the government of criminal negligence, their blatant callousness has undeniably contributed to this tragedy,” he said.
Patnaik called the incident a “stampede” that “exposes the government’s glaring incompetence in ensuring a peaceful festival for devotees.”
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