The death toll rose from nine to 12 on Saturday, according to CBS News.
The incident occurred at the Swami Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, where hundreds of devotees had gathered to celebrate Ekadashi, one of the Hindu holy days, senior police official KV Maheswa Reddy told The Associated Press.
According to BBC News, on this day believers fast and offer prayers to Vishnu, an important Hindu god known as the preserver and protector of the universe.
Reddy said initial investigations indicate that the iron bars used to maintain the queue of worshipers at the temple broke, leading to an uncontrollable surge in crowds.
Swapnil Dinkar Punkar, a senior local government official, said there were fears there could be more casualties. “Seven people were initially reported dead, but two more people have died from their injuries and two others are in critical condition,” he said.
Eight of the dead were women and one child, Pundkar said, adding that at least 16 devotees injured in the stampede were being treated at a local hospital, while 20 others were in a state of shock and under observation at another hospital.
Video footage from local media showed people rushing to help people who had passed out and were gasping for breath in the crowd. Some people were rubbing the hands of people who had fallen to the ground.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Andhra Pradesh’s most senior lawmaker N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed their sadness and condolences to the bereaved family.
State officials in Andhra Pradesh said the site is a private temple on 12 acres of land and is not under government control. The maximum capacity was 3,000 people, but the crowd had swelled to about 25,000 on Saturday, officials said.
The state’s fact-finding department said in a statement on social media: “No adjustments were made accordingly and no information was provided to the government by the parties involved. This is the cause of the accident.”
According to local media, Naidu vowed strict action against those responsible for the deadly attack and ordered an investigation into the incident.
Crowd surges at religious gatherings are not uncommon in India, with large groups often gathering at temples and pilgrimage sites, sometimes overwhelming local infrastructure and safety measures.
In July, at least six people were killed and dozens injured when crowds stormed a popular Hindu temple in northern India. At least 30 people were killed during the Kumbh Mela festival in the northern city of Prayagraj in January. A month later, at least 18 people were killed at a New Delhi train station on their way to a festival.
MNA