Six devotees were killed and a dozen others injured in a stampede atop Indrakiladri hill in the coastal city of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday morning.  

Vijayawada West Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police Vijay Kumar told rediff.com that the incident occurred between 4.10 am and 4.20 am (in the early hours) on Indrakiladri ghat road when thousands of devotees were proceeding to Sree Kanaka Durga Malleswara Swamy temple to offer prayers on the last day of Bhavani deeksha (penance).

The dead included four women, a man and a child. The injured were shifted to the government general hospital.

Vijayawada Commissioner of Police C V Anand and other top officials rushed to the spot after the incident.  

Eyewitnesses told police that the incident had occurred as there was only one way for climbing up the hill and there were not enough policemen around on bandobust. As the devotees standing in the serpentine queues tried to surge forward, a stampede occurred, resulting in the tragic death of six persons and injuries to 12 others.

Five of the six deceased were identified as Rambabu (8) of Eluru, Kesibai(21) of Kurnool, Chuvadda Lakshmi (23) of Vijayawada, Sunita (38) of Kakinada and Ramulamma (50) of Visakhapatnam [Images].

State Endownment Minister J Ratnakar Rao has ordered a departmental enquiry into the incident and blamed the temple authorities for failing to make proper arrangements for the pilgrims.

The government has announced Rs one lakh ex-gratia for the kin of those killed and Rs 10,000 for each of the injured.

Additional Reportage: Agencies