At least three devotees lost their lives and several others sustained injuries in a stampede that took place near the Shri Gundicha Temple during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha, on Sunday. This unfortunate incident happened as large crowds congregated around the chariot of Lord Jagannath.
In a heartbreaking event, at least three devotees have tragically lost their lives, and numerous others sustained injuries following a stampede that erupted near the Shri Gundicha Temple during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri, Odisha, on Sunday.
Initial reports indicate that the stampede occurred in front of Lord Jagannath’s chariot, Nandighosh, as it arrived at the Gundicha Temple around 4–5 am.
As the three chariots reached the temple, large crowds assembled to view the deity. The overwhelming number of attendees caused barriers to give way, resulting in chaos as many devotees fell near the wheels of the chariot.
The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu from Bolagarh in the Khorda district, along with Premakanti Mohanty and Prabhati Das from Athantara village in the Balianta block.
Officials reported that over 10 lakh (one million) individuals attended the two-day Rath Yatra festivities. On the first day of the yatra, Friday, more than 10 lakh devotees were present, leading to significant crowd pressure. By evening, approximately 625 individuals had fallen ill near Devi Subhadra’s chariot.
On Saturday, many devotees also experienced health issues, despite the crowd being 10–20 percent smaller than on Friday. Over the past 24 hours, more than 650 people faced health complications, with at least 70 requiring hospitalization, nine of whom are in critical condition.
In a separate incident on Saturday, three young women en route to Puri for the Rath Yatra lost their lives after being struck by a bus on the highway connecting Bhubaneswar to the coastal pilgrimage town.
According to police, the accident occurred near Pipili on a bridge when the women, who were riding a two-wheeler, were hit by a motorcycle, causing them to fall onto the roadway. A government bus subsequently ran over them.
Two of the women died at the scene, while the third succumbed to her injuries en route to the Pipili community health center.
