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A authorities authoritative talks connected his mobile telephone from a assemblage wellness centre successful Katra, adjacent Jammu, India, Jan.1, 2022. A stampede astatine a fashionable spiritual Hindu shrine has killed astatine slightest 12 radical and injured 12 others connected New Year's Day successful Indian-controlled Kashmir aboriginal Saturday, officials said. Authorities were investigating what caused the stampede astatine Mata Vaishnav Devi shrine wherever tens of thousands of Hindu devotees assemble regular to wage their obeisance successful hilly Katra municipality adjacent confederate Jammu city. (AP Photograph/Channi Anand)

SRINAGAR – A stampede astatine a fashionable Hindu shrine successful Indian-controlled Kashmir killed astatine slightest 12 radical and injured 13 others connected New Year’s Day, officials said.

An probe has been ordered into what caused the stampede aboriginal Saturday astatine the Mata Vaishnav Devi shrine, wherever thousands of Hindu devotees were gathered to wage their respect successful the hilly municipality of Katra adjacent confederate Jammu city.

Mahesh, a devotee who gave lone 1 name, said the stampede occurred adjacent 1 of the gates wherever pilgrims entered and exited the way to the shrine.

“Something happened adjacent 1 of the gates and I recovered myself nether a crush of people. I suffocated and fell but someway managed to basal up,” helium said. “I saw radical moving implicit the bodies. It was a horrifying sight, but I managed to assistance successful rescuing immoderate injured people.”

Another devotee named Priyansh said helium and 10 friends from New Delhi arrived Friday nighttime to sojourn the shrine and that 2 of his friends died successful the incident.

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“I person ne'er seen thing similar this,” helium said.

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi expressed his condolences successful a connection connected Twitter.

“Extremely saddened by the nonaccomplishment of lives owed to a stampede,” Modi wrote.

Pilgrims often trek connected ft to scope the hilltop temple, which is 1 of the astir visited shrines successful bluish India.

Deadly stampedes are reasonably communal during Indian spiritual festivals, arsenic ample crowds, sometimes successful the millions, stitchery successful tiny areas with fewer information oregon assemblage power measures.

In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a fashionable Hindu festival successful India’s cardinal Madhya Pradesh authorities stampeded amid fears that a span would collapse, and astatine slightest 115 radical were crushed to decease oregon died successful the stream below.

More than 100 Hindu devotees died successful 2011 successful a stampede astatine a spiritual festival successful the confederate Indian authorities of Kerala.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.