Seven killed in Tirupati stampede

Thousands of devotees thronged the city ahead of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, overwhelming the arrangements made by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

TTD had announced the issuance of 1.20 lakh tokens for darshan scheduled for January 10, 11 and 12. Anticipating massive crowds, the tokens were to be distributed starting at 5am Thursday at nine centres across Tirupati and Tirumala.

However, a huge influx of devotees by Wednesday afternoon prompted TTD to begin issuing tokens on Wednesday night.

Despite the early start, the sheer number of devotees made it a difficult task. Amid the resultant chaos, simultaneous stampedes occurred at various locations — particularly at Bairagipatteda, Srinivasam and Ramachandra Pushkarini.

The worst incident occurred at MGM School in Bairagipatteda. Police said they opened a gate to assist a devotee suffering from a breathing issue. However, the sudden opening of the gate sent out wrong signals to the waiting crowds, triggered a surge and stampede.

A woman devotee from Salem district in Tamil Nadu suffocated in the melee and died on the spot.

Emergency services were immediately deployed to rescue those trapped in the crowd. Several injured devotees were rushed to the SVR Ruia Hospital, where three of them succumbed to their injuries. The critically injured were later transferred to SVIMS Hospital for advanced treatment, but two more victims could not be saved.

TTD executive officer J. Syamala Rao and Tirupati district collector Venkateswar rushed to the hospitals and coordinated the emergency response.

TTD had set up 94 counters at nine locations for token distribution, but the arrangements proved to be inadequate in view of the unexpectedly large crowds. Devotees began queuing since Wednesday afternoon, leading to impatience and jostling for space at several centres. Police and TTD staff had a hard time managing the swelling crowd. Reports of jostling and fainting emerged from multiple locations.

Officials said late in the night that the situation was brought under control. District SP Subba Rayudu confirmed that token distribution resumed before midnight.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the stampede and loss of lives during a sacred pilgrimage season. He reviewed medical care for the injured and directed officials to ensure comprehensive care to the affected people. He also called for better crowd management to prevent such incidents in the future.

Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan also conveyed his condolences, urging the authorities to review and strengthen crowd management strategies to prevent such incidents.