- A crowd surge at a popular Hindu temple in Haridwar, northern India, resulted in at least six deaths and 29 injuries on Sunday.
- The incident was triggered when a high-voltage electric wire reportedly fell on a temple path, causing widespread panic among the large gathering of devotees.
- Thousands of pilgrims had congregated at the Mansa Devi hilltop temple to celebrate the holy month of Shravan when the panic ensued around 9 a.m.
- Local officials and a priest indicated that a narrow pathway and a wall along it exacerbated the crowd bottleneck, contributing to the tragic consequences.
- Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the overhead wire collapse and assessing whether appropriate crowd management protocols were in place.
IN FULL