New Delhi, June 29 (LaPresse) – Three people have died and more than a dozen were hospitalized following a sudden surge in the crowd during a popular Hindu festival in the coastal city of Puri, in eastern India.
Tens of thousands of devotees had gathered on Sunday for the 'Rath Yatra', or Chariot Festival — one of the oldest and largest religious processions in the world.
The city’s top official reported that people fainted, felt suffocated, and complained of shortness of breath. He stated that 15 individuals were rushed to the local government hospital, where three were pronounced dead. Autopsies are scheduled. The remaining 12 were treated and discharged.