Crowd crush at India’s Tirupati temple kills six as thousands seek entry

Dozens of others injured aft thousands of devotees queue extracurricular 1 of the astir visited Hindu temples successful confederate India.

At slightest six radical person been crushed to decease and dozens injured arsenic a assemblage surged astatine 1 of the astir visited Hindu spiritual sites astatine Tirupati municipality successful India’s confederate authorities of Andhra Pradesh.

A immense assemblage gathered to cod escaped entranceway tokens to sojourn the town’s Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple erstwhile the crush happened connected Wednesday night.

“The unfortunate incidental … has claimed the lives of six devotees. I commune to God to springiness bid to the departed souls,” Prem Kumar Jain, spokesperson of the state’s ruling Telugu Desam Party, told reporters.

Since aboriginal connected Wednesday, devotees from crossed India had begun to congregate for a 10-day festival astatine the temple that starts connected Friday.

Authorities had acceptable up counters to administer escaped tokens from Thursday to sojourn the astir 2,000-year-old temple but the assemblage pushed and jostled, according to the bureau of N Chandrababu Naidu, main curate of the state.

In a station connected X, Naidu said the deaths “grieved maine intensely”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the deceased.

“My thoughts are with those who person mislaid their adjacent and beloved ones,” his bureau said connected societal media level X.

Deadly accidents are communal astatine places of worship successful India during large spiritual festivals owed to mediocre assemblage absorption and information lapses.

In July past year, up to 121 radical were killed successful Hathras town of the bluish Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu spiritual gathering.

Another 112 radical died successful 2016 aft a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks show marking the Hindu New Year astatine a temple successful the confederate Kerala state.

Wednesday’s incidental came days earlier the commencement of the Kumbh Mela, a six-week Hindu festival of supplication and ineffable bathing expected to beryllium the largest spiritual gathering successful history. Up to 400 cardinal pilgrims are expected to attend, according to organisers.

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