Crowd Crush at Tirupati Temple Claims Six Lives

A devastating crowd crush at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, has resulted in the deaths of six people and left dozens injured, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

Thousands of devotees had gathered to collect free entrance tokens for an upcoming 10-day festival when the tragedy occurred.

The crush unfolded on Wednesday night as the crowd surged at token distribution counters, leading to chaos. Prem Kumar Jain, a spokesman for the ruling Telugu Desam Party, expressed deep sorrow over the incident and prayed for the victims.

Crowd-related accidents during religious festivals are frequent in India, often attributed to inadequate crowd management. Previous incidents, such as the Hathras stampede in July 2024, have raised concerns about safety at large gatherings.