Officials said on Saturday that six individuals were crushed to death at a Hindu temple in the coastal Indian state of Goa, following thousands of people who had assembled for a popular fire-walking ritual.
The fatal stampede at the Lairai Devi shrine in the Shirgao village early on Saturday morning “deeply saddened me,” Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement.
He promised to provide “all possible support” to the families of those slain or injured during his visit to the hospital.
According to Goa state health minister Vishwajit Rane, “about 80” persons were injured.
“The remaining patients are receiving treatment in the specially designed emergency ward, while five are critically ill and on ventilator support,” he stated.
“Sincere condolences to those who lost their loved ones,” said the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A fire-walking ceremony marks the Lairai Zatra, a significant Hindu holiday in Goa.
During Indian religious festivals, deadly stampedes are infamously frequent.
An early-morning crush at the Hindu mega-festival, the Kumbh Mela, in the northern city of Prayagraj, earlier this year claimed the lives of at least thirty people.
-Deeprows News
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