3 killed, several injured in stampede during Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri
PTC News Desk: At least three people lost their lives and around 50 others were injured in a stampede near the Sri Gundicha Temple in Puri, Odisha, during the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. The incident took place early Sunday morning between 4 and 4:30 am amid a massive crowd.
Puri District Collector Siddharth S. Swain stated that the stampede-like situation occurred when hundreds of devotees had assembled near the Shree Gundicha Temple for darshan, and a sudden crowd surge led to chaos.
The victims of the stampede have been identified as Basanti Sahu from Bolagarh, and Premakant Mohanty and Pravati Das from Balipatna—all hailing from Odisha's Khurda district. Their bodies have been sent for postmortem examination.
The tragedy occurred near Saradhabali, in front of the temple, where Lord Jagannath was positioned on his chariot. During the darshan, the crowd grew uncontrollable, leading to panic in which several devotees fell and were trampled.
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the stampede. “We are examining what led to the sudden surge and whether there were any lapses in managing the crowd,” an official said.
Approximately one million devotees took part in the annual Rath Yatra, during which the grand chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Goddess Subhadra are pulled through the streets of Puri. The deities are taken to the Gundicha Temple, where they remain for a week before returning to the Jagannath Temple.
- With inputs from agencies
