Nine dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India

A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in southern India left at least nine people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Saturday

A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in southern India left at least nine people dead and dozens injured, local authorities said Saturday.

The incident occurred at the Swamy Venkateswara Temple in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh state where hundreds of devotees had gathered to mark one of Hinduism’s sacred days, “Ekadashi,” senior police officer K. V. Maheswra Reddy told the Associated Press.

On this day, the devotees fast and offer prayers to Lord Vishnu, a key Hindu deity.

An initial investigation suggests that an iron grille meant to maintain the queue of worshippers at the temple broke, leading to the uncontrolled crowd surge, Reddy said.

Senior local government official Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said more casualties were feared. “Initially, we had reports of seven deaths, but two more people have succumbed to their injuries while the condition of two others is critical,” he said.