SRINAGAR: A stampede at a popular Hindu shrine in Indian Illegaly Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) killed at least 12 people and injured 13 others on New Year’s Day, officials said.
An investigation has been ordered into what caused the stampede early Saturday at the Mata Vaishnav Devi shrine, where thousands of Hindu devotees were gathered to pay their respect in the hilly town of Katra near southern Jammu city.
Mahesh, a devotee who gave only one name, said the stampede occurred near one of the gates where pilgrims entered and exited the route to the shrine.
“Something happened near one of the gates and I found myself under a crush of people. I suffocated and fell but somehow managed to stand up,” he said, adding “I saw people moving over the bodies. It was a horrifying sight, but I managed to help in rescuing some injured people.”
Another devotee named Priyansh said he and 10 friends from New Delhi arrived on Friday night to visit the shrine and that two of his friends died in the incident. “I have never seen anything like this,” he said. Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in a message on Twitter.