'For five minutes, we thought we were dead': Tirupati stampede survivor recounts horrific incident

NEW DELHI: A devotee who survived the deadly stampede at Tirupati recounted the horrific incident saying people went uncontrollable, walking over others and pushing each other. D Venkata Lakshmi, who was waiting for hours to get tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam recalled, "for five minutes we thought all of us were dead."

I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," she added.

At least six devotees were killed and over 40 injured as a stampede broke out at Tirupati on Wednesday night during the ticket distribution.

Several survivors of the incident spoke about the long waiting hours for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam tickets and the abrupt opening of gates that caused the crowd to rush forward.

Talking to a vernacular news channel, she said six boys helped by pulling her aside and offered water after the crowd surge triggered the stampede.

Lakshmi explained that people rushed ahead, causing approximately 10 individuals to fall where she stood.

"Though I was raising a hue and cry that I was falling on the side, people were still rushing from behind and could not be controlled. I don't know if they were pushing ahead, but the men were uncontrollable. People were walking over devotees. I could not even breathe for a long time," she said.

She said that the tragedy could have been prevented if the police had managed the crowd movement properly, noting that people could not make sense of what was happening.

Another devotee reported arriving at around 11 am on Wednesday, with the gate opening at 7 pm.

She mentioned, "Someone instructed devotees to maintain a line and not rush, but no one heeded the advice. Police were stationed outside, not inside."

A male devotee emphasised that authorities were informed about the presence of 5,000 devotees. He said that the sudden opening of gates by police led to the stampede.