Tragedy strikes pilgrims en route to Talakona Temple; three injured
Anantapur: In a tragic incident, three devotees were crushed to death in an attack by a herd of elephants in the deep forests in Gundalakona area of Obulavaripalle mandal in Annamayya district on Monday night. Two more devotees suffered serious injuries and were battling for life at Ruya Hospital in Tirupati on Tuesday.
The deceased were Vankayala Dinesh. Tupakula Manemma and Chengalarayudu of Urlagadda Podu village in Annamayya district. About 14 devotees from the village went on a walkathon to reach the Lord Shiva temple at Talakona -- a shortcut to the shrine -- on the occasion of Maha Shivarathri. Suddenly, a herd of jumbos attacked them. The elephants were apparently disturbed by the sounds made by a few devotees. They also set up a campfire along the way in the deep forest.
Three devotees were killed on the spot while two more suffered serious injuries. The remaining devotees ran away from the spot.
R&B minister Mandli Ramprasad Reddy alerted the district administration as also the forest and police departments soon after he received the report. Rescue teams rushed to the spot and saw three bodies on the spot, while three more devotees were in deep pain due to the injuries they suffered.
The rescue team learned that the elephants had initially come closer to the route and returned without hurting anyone. But when the devotees created noise to clear the jumbos from the spot, this irritated the herd, leading to the attack.
The forest officials said devotees in forest area temples have been cautioned about likely threats from wild animals and that they were frequently checking the normal routes. Since this group of devotees opted for a shortcut route to reach Talakona, no protection could be given to them.
The bodies were shifted to the Railway Koduru hospital while the three injured were rushed for hospitalization in Tirupati.
