At least 60 crushed to death in Sabarimala stampede
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tragedy struck the popular Sabarimala pilgrimage on Friday with at least 60 people reported dead following an accident which resulted in a stampede, around 10km from the forest shrine in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district.
According the reports from the remote site, around 90 persons were injured.
The incident occurred a little after 8pm when pilgrims were on their way back after witnessing the Makara Jyoti ceremony. State Dewasom minister, Kadannappalli Ramachandran, quoting preliminary reports, said that the tragic chain of events was triggered by a jeep that broke down on the way back from the temple.
As pilgrims tried to move the vehicle, it overturned, crushing a number of people in the process. More vehicles which were behind the jeep slipped and fell on pilgrims, resulting in a stampede.
Ramachandran said the toll could be between 50 and 60. He said poor light and the huge mass of people at the site were hampering rescue efforts. The mishap occured at Pulmedu, near Vandiperiyar.
Kerala home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said he had asked the DGP to rush to the scene. "Home secretary is already in Pampa and I have asked the SPs and District Collectors of Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts to help with rescue efforts," Balakrishnan said.
The Makaravilakku festival saw unprecedented rush this year. According to the Travancore Dewasom Board which administers the shrine, the number of pilgrims had registered a 20% rise this year.
The route where the mishap occurred is used mostly by pilgrims from other states. It is feared that most of the dead or injured were pilgrims from other states.
The injured were being taken to the Kottayam Medical College ! . Polic e said they had made arrangements for vehicles to use the route but the sheer number of pilgrims this year made crowd-control difficult.
On 14 January 1999, 53 persons, the majority of them from outside Kerala, had died in a stampede at the Pamba base camp caused by, among other things, the collapse of a hillock.
According the reports from the remote site, around 90 persons were injured.
The incident occurred a little after 8pm when pilgrims were on their way back after witnessing the Makara Jyoti ceremony. State Dewasom minister, Kadannappalli Ramachandran, quoting preliminary reports, said that the tragic chain of events was triggered by a jeep that broke down on the way back from the temple.
As pilgrims tried to move the vehicle, it overturned, crushing a number of people in the process. More vehicles which were behind the jeep slipped and fell on pilgrims, resulting in a stampede.
Ramachandran said the toll could be between 50 and 60. He said poor light and the huge mass of people at the site were hampering rescue efforts. The mishap occured at Pulmedu, near Vandiperiyar.
Kerala home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said he had asked the DGP to rush to the scene. "Home secretary is already in Pampa and I have asked the SPs and District Collectors of Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts to help with rescue efforts," Balakrishnan said.
The Makaravilakku festival saw unprecedented rush this year. According to the Travancore Dewasom Board which administers the shrine, the number of pilgrims had registered a 20% rise this year.
The route where the mishap occurred is used mostly by pilgrims from other states. It is feared that most of the dead or injured were pilgrims from other states.
The injured were being taken to the Kottayam Medical College ! . Polic e said they had made arrangements for vehicles to use the route but the sheer number of pilgrims this year made crowd-control difficult.
On 14 January 1999, 53 persons, the majority of them from outside Kerala, had died in a stampede at the Pamba base camp caused by, among other things, the collapse of a hillock.
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