Witnesses say railings “snapped like twigs” as thousands pushed into the packed sanctuary
A sacred day of prayer turned into a nightmare in southern India on Saturday when a crowd surge inside the Swamy Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh left at least nine people dead and sixteen others hospitalized.
Authorities say the tragedy unfolded during Ekadashi, one of Hinduism’s most significant days of fasting and worship, drawing tens of thousands of devotees to the temple. Police believe a metal divider meant to guide the flow of worshippers gave way under intense pressure — triggering a stampede that caused a railing inside the structure to collapse.
“What began as a moment of devotion quickly turned to chaos,” said local police superintendent K. V. Maheswra Reddy in a televised press briefing. “People started pushing forward, and once the railing gave out, there was no way to stop the wave.”
The temple, designed to hold no more than 3,000 people, was reportedly packed with more than 25,000 at the time. Witnesses described a “crushing wall of bodies” and a sound like metal snapping before the structure gave way.
Video circulating on Indian news channels shows hundreds of barefoot worshippers screaming as the crowd collapses inward. Some appear to fall from the temple’s steps while others desperately pull loved ones from the crush.
“It was like a sea of people moving all at once,” one survivor told the Hindustan Times. “The railing just snapped like a twig. I lost my sister in the chaos — I still can’t believe it.”
Eight of the victims were women, and one was a child, officials confirmed. Sixteen others remain in hospital care with injuries ranging from fractures to respiratory distress.
Police said the temple had recently undergone minor renovations, including new guard rails that were reportedly “weak and unstable.” Local engineers have been called in to assess whether structural negligence played a role.
“Even before the incident, there were warnings about overcrowding,” a district official told NDTV. “This was a tragedy waiting to happen.”
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed his condolences in a post on X, calling the incident “extremely heartbreaking.” He ordered an immediate investigation and promised financial support for victims’ families.
“The death of devotees in this tragic incident is shocking,” Naidu wrote. “Officials have been instructed to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured and to provide assistance to grieving families.”
India has witnessed several deadly crowd surges at religious gatherings over the years. In 2022, 36 people died at a political rally in Tamil Nadu, and in 2016, more than 50 were killed at a temple festival in Kerala after a pyrotechnic display caused panic.
Experts say the latest disaster underscores a recurring problem: too many people, too few safety measures.
“Crowd management in religious spaces needs urgent reform,” said sociologist Dr. Meera Seshadri. “People’s faith draws them in — but without proper infrastructure, faith gatherings keep turning into tragedies.”
As mourning families gather outside the Srikakulam district hospital, candles line the temple’s outer wall — a somber tribute to the worshippers who came seeking blessings but never made it home.
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