Crowd crush at temple in India’s Goa kills 6, injures dozens

Tens of thousands of devotees throng narrow lanes leading to a Hindu temple in the coastal state, causing the deadly crush.

At least six people have been killed and about 80 others were injured in a crowd crush at a temple in the western Indian state of Goa where tens of thousands of Hindu worshippers had assembled, officials said.

The incident happened on Friday night as thousands of devotees thronged narrow lanes leading to the Hindu temple in Goa’s Shirgao village, some 40km (24 miles) from the state capital of Panaji.

People had gathered during the annual Shri Lairai Zatra festival at the Sree Lairai Devi temple, which is popular for events including firewalking rituals, during which devotees walk barefoot over a bed of burning coals to seek blessings.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India news agency, people standing on a slope near the temple fell over, pushing more people to fall onto each other, Director General of Police Alok Kumar said.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened by the tragic stampede”. He visited the hospital and said that “all possible support” would be given to the families of those killed or injured.

Vishwajit Rane, Goa state’s health minister, said “approximately 80” people were injured. “Five are critical and on ventilator support, while the remaining are being treated in the specially created emergency ward,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office expressed “condolences to those who lost their loved ones”. “The local administration is assisting those affected,” Modi said on social media.

Deadly crushes occur regularly at religious festivals across India, where large crowds often gather in small areas.

In January, at least 30 people were killed and many more were injured as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river at India’s massive Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering, in the northern Uttar Pradesh state.

In July last year, at least 116 people died, most of them women and children, when a crowd of thousands at a religious gathering in northern India surged at a tent camp in Hathras town in the same state.

Another 18 people, mostly women and children, were killed in a crowd crush at a train station in India’s capital New Delhi in February.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies