Sabarimala stampede: 104 killed, 50 injured

[1]

A man cries after identifying the body of a relative, died in the Friday's stampede near Sabarimala Temple

The death toll from Friday night's Sabarimala temple stampede has climbed to 104, with over 50 injured, reports have claimed.
The tragedy occured after an accident triggered a stampede among pilgrims at Pulmedu in the deep forests of Kerala’s Idduki district. Most of the victims hailed from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Pulmedu, 8 km from Sabarimala, is located between Vandiperiyar and Kumili in Idukki district and is a favourite alternative spot for viewing the Makara Jyothi. This year, about 1 lakh devotees had gathered at the tiny habitation.

Some reports said the stampede occurred after a van ploughed into a crowd of pilgrims waiting for a glimpse of the jyothi.

Another version said that a bus that was being push-started fell into a roadside ditch. A third version said that many pilgrims had clambered atop a parked jeep to get a better view of the jyothi, and the vehicle overturned.

The resulting panic set off a stampede in which the devotees were killed. Up to 60 bodies had been received at the Vandiperiyar hospital. A police officer said, “It is all very dark. We will know the full picture at sunrise.”

Ambulances and medical personnel could not reach the spot immediately. The first vehicles carrying the dead and the injured reached Vandiperiyar only by around 11 pm.

The Kerala home minister, Mr K. Balakrishnan, has rushed the DGP, Mr Jacob Punnose, and top police officials to the area to monitor rescue and relief operations.

The crowd at Pulmedu had swelled because officials had stopped accepting pilgrims at Vadaserikara in Pattanamthitta district, another favourite viewing spot, from Thursday morning in view of heavy crowding in the area.

The devotees who were turned away gathered at Pulmedu.

Pulmedu is 30 km from Kumili on the Tamil Nadu border and has a direct route to Madurai on National Highway 7, which leads back to AP. Pilgrims from AP take this route especially if they intend to go to other holy places in Tamil Nadu.

A helpline has been set up by the Kumili police station: 04869-222049.