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Odisha Rath Yatra Stampede: Eyewitnesses say ‘people fell over each other' as three killed, dozens injured
Odisha temple stampede: Eyewitnesses stated that "people fell over each other' in an early morning incident near the Gundicha temple, which took three lives, injured dozens.
An eyewitness said that 'people fell over each other' and several lost consciousness in just a few minutes, mentioning that they hurried to the information centre for assistance. However, the witness mentioned that the centre was unable to help, and the ambulance was located approximately a kilometre from the scene, ANI reported.
Swadhin Kumar Panda, who claimed to be at the spot around 4 am when it occured, said, 'People started exiting from the entrance itself, which increased the crowd', stressing the management was 'not good'.
Pravati Das, 52, hailing from Balipatna, Basanti Sahu, 42, belonging to Godabhanga and Premakanta Mohanty, 78, from Bhubaneswar were pronounced dead.
"When this incident happened, no one responded, neither the fire officials, nor the rescue team, nor the hospital team,' the husband of one of those killed informed ANI.
The senior government official Siddharth Shankar Swain told AP, 'There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the Hindu deities during which few people either fainted, felt suffocated or complained of breathlessness.' He added that15 people were taken to a local government hospital, where three people were declared dead and the other 12 were released. Autopsies are to be conducted for victims who died to know the precise reason of death.
