At least six individuals died in a stampede at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Andhra Pradesh, India, and several others were injured, officials reported on Thursday. The tragedy took place on Wednesday when a large crowd assembled to obtain entrance tokens to the temple, which is one of the most sacred locations in Hinduism. Prem Kumar Jain, a spokesperson for the ruling Telugu Desam Party in the state, expressed sorrow over the event, stating, “The tragic incident has resulted in the deaths of six devotees.” “I ask God to grant peace to the souls who have passed away,” he said to reporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, saying, “I am thinking of those who have lost loved ones,” according to a statement from his office on the social media platform X. Fatal incidents at religious events are a common problem in India, frequently attributed to inadequate crowd control and safety measures. In July 2024, 121 individuals lost their lives during a comparable Hindu festival in Uttar Pradesh. In 2016, a prohibited fireworks show at a temple in Kerala resulted in an explosion that killed 112 people. The stampede occurred just days before the Kumbh Mela, a six-week Hindu festival of prayer and holy bathing, expected to be the largest religious congregation ever. Organizers anticipate that as many as 400 million pilgrims will participate in the event.
