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Indian stampede death rise to 104
Source: Xinhua |
January 15, 2011, Saturday
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WITH the recovery of four more bodies overnight, the death toll in yesterday's stampede at a temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala has reached 104, while 100 others injured are recuperating in a local hospital, said police.
Police have recovered all the bodies through rescue work conducted overnight despite heavy mist and the remoteness of the hilly terrain, said the state's Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose through telephone interview.
The toll may go up, he added.
The tragedy happened a little after 20:00 p.m. yesterday when an out-of-control vehicle carrying pilgrims coming from a religious festival ploughed into a crowd and turned turtle, triggering the stampede near the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala at Pulmedu in the town of Vandiperiyar in Idukki district.
Sabarimla is a mystic place where divine light is said to appear on its own and to see that, devotees from all over the world walk for 40 days deep inside jungle to reach a hill top.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the hill shrine on the last day of an annual religious festival, which runs for two months and attracts millions of visitors every year, a temple official said.
Those killed were mostly from the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, a temple official said.
Meanwhile, Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi as well as Kerala's Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan have expressed their grief and condolences over the tragedy.
The prime minister sanctioned a compensation of 100,000 rupees (US$2,000) each to the relatives to those killed and 50, 000 rupees (US$1,000) to those injured in what is being claimed as one of the country's worst tragedies. The Kerala government declared a three-day mourning.
Kerala's Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said that the state government will meet all the expenses for treating the injured even if they have been admitted to private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
"A thorough investigation will be done and the state government will meet all the expenses for transporting the bodies to their homes," he added.
Stampedes at public events in India are quite common as large numbers of people gather into congested areas. On January 14, 1999, the collapse of a hillock had also caused a fatal stampede at the Pamba base camp near the temple in Kerala, leaving at least 53 pilgrims dead.
Police have recovered all the bodies through rescue work conducted overnight despite heavy mist and the remoteness of the hilly terrain, said the state's Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose through telephone interview.
The toll may go up, he added.
The tragedy happened a little after 20:00 p.m. yesterday when an out-of-control vehicle carrying pilgrims coming from a religious festival ploughed into a crowd and turned turtle, triggering the stampede near the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala at Pulmedu in the town of Vandiperiyar in Idukki district.
Sabarimla is a mystic place where divine light is said to appear on its own and to see that, devotees from all over the world walk for 40 days deep inside jungle to reach a hill top.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the hill shrine on the last day of an annual religious festival, which runs for two months and attracts millions of visitors every year, a temple official said.
Those killed were mostly from the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, a temple official said.
Meanwhile, Indian President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi as well as Kerala's Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan have expressed their grief and condolences over the tragedy.
The prime minister sanctioned a compensation of 100,000 rupees (US$2,000) each to the relatives to those killed and 50, 000 rupees (US$1,000) to those injured in what is being claimed as one of the country's worst tragedies. The Kerala government declared a three-day mourning.
Kerala's Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said that the state government will meet all the expenses for treating the injured even if they have been admitted to private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
"A thorough investigation will be done and the state government will meet all the expenses for transporting the bodies to their homes," he added.
Stampedes at public events in India are quite common as large numbers of people gather into congested areas. On January 14, 1999, the collapse of a hillock had also caused a fatal stampede at the Pamba base camp near the temple in Kerala, leaving at least 53 pilgrims dead.
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