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8 stampedes, 129 killed: Andhra deaths the latest in series of tragedies in 2025
At Andhra Pradesh’s Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam, nine people, including a child, died in the stampede on the occasion of Ekadashi on Saturday.
One hundred and twenty-nine people have died in stampedes across India at temples, victory celebrations, railway stations and a political rally so far this year. Crowd surges are already quite common in India, the world’s most populous country, and religious gatherings often attract huge crowds of people flocking to temples or pilgrimage sites. This often leads to overcrowding and hampers security measures.
On Saturday (November 1), yet another stampede took place at a temple that led to several deaths and injuries. At Andhra Pradesh’s Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam, nine people, including a child, died in the stampede on the occasion of Ekadashi. Many survivors blamed poor crowd management at the privately owned temple.
8 stampede incidents in 2025
A total of eight such stampede incidents have occurred this year, where many people died as massive crowds gathered at various events. Here is a look at all of them:
Andhra temple stampede (November 1): At least nine people died, eight women and a boy, as huge crowds of devotees gathered at the Venkateswara Swamy temple in Srikakulam district on the occasion of Ekadashi. Authorities said that the stampede could have been avoided if the temple management had informed them in advance about the expected surge of devotees. Survivors blamed the lack of proper crowd management and the use of a narrow path for both entry and exit for the stampede.
Karur stampede (September 27): A total of 41 people were killed and over 50 others injured in a stampede that occurred during a public rally by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief and actor-politician Vijay in Tamil Nadu’s Karur. Police said that the organisers had booked a ground expecting about 10,000 people. However, nearly three times more people showed up. Vijay, who was scheduled to arrive at 3 pm, turned up at 7.30 pm, which police said swelled the crowd. On October 3, a single-judge bench of Justice N Senthilkumar, during a hearing of the case in the High Court in Chennai, called the incident a “huge man-made disaster”. The Supreme Court later ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led probe into the incident.
Haridwar stampede (July 27): A massive rush of devotees along a stair path leading to the Mansa Devi temple in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar resulted in a stampede that killed eight people, including a child, and injured 30 others. The death toll later rose to 9 after a 55-year-old woman died at AIIMS, Rishikesh. Police said that there was a rumour that an electric cable had broken and current was passing through the stairs, which led to panic among the pilgrims. A magisterial probe was ordered into the incident.
Bengaluru stampede during RCB victory celebrations (June 4): Celebrations turned into chaos and tragedy as eleven people died and 50 others were injured when a massive crowd of an estimated three lakh people gathered to attend Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) victory event in the Karnataka capital. In the aftermath, the Karnataka government blamed RCB for the stampede in its report submitted to the High Court, citing serious lapses, including poor coordination and overwhelming turnout.
Goa temple stampede (May 3): Six people were killed and 70 others injured after a stampede at the Lairai Devi Zatra temple in North Goa’s Shirgao. Dinanath Gaonkar, the president of the temple, said that the panic may have begun when a devotee touched a light bulb with his cane stick, got an electric shock, and fell on others nearby. About 50,000 to 70,000 devotees were present at the temple during the incident. A senior government official said at the time that the stampede took place on a sloping ground that is prone to such incidents.
New Delhi railway station stampede (February 15): Eighteen people, including four children, died as a flood of passengers, combined with alleged mismanagement, rushed to board trains at the New Delhi railway station to attend the Maha Kumbh mela in Prayagraj, resulting in a stampede. At the time, HT reported, citing Railway records, that 7,600 unreserved tickets were sold at a rate of 1,500 per hour as crowds increased from 6 pm onwards. Further, Delhi Police said that the announcement of the Prayagraj Special train arriving at Platform 16 caused chaos and confusion since the train was already at Platform 14. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Parliament later that a huge piece of luggage had fallen from a passenger and dropped onto the stairs, leading to the tripping of passengers.
Maha Kumbh stampede (January 29): Thirty people were killed and 60 others injured in a stampede during the Maha Kumbh mela in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj at the Sangam area during the early hours as lakhs of devotees rushed to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, considered one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar. The crowds broke through police barricades and ran towards a narrow strip of the riverbank, trampling other people on the way. A three-member judicial commission was announced to probe the incident.
Tirupati stampede (January 9): Six people were killed as hundreds of devotees rushed for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala Hills in Andhra Pradesh, resulting in a stampede. Survivors said that the long waiting hours to purchase tickets and the sudden opening of the gates led to the massive crowd rush. Terming the stampede unfortunate, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board member Bhanu Prakash apologised and sought forgiveness over the incident.
