Puri, Odisha: Amid the ongoing Jagannath Rath Yatra 2025 in Odisha’s Puri, a stampede occurred on Saturday morning at around 4.30 am, claiming at least 3 lives and injuring over 50 devotees.

The tragic event occurred when the three Raths carrying idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Shubhadra arrived near Shere Gundicha Temple, about three kilometers from Jagannath temple, where the Yatra began.

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Out of three who died on the spot, two were women, and more than 50 people sustained injuries. A large crowd had gathered for a darshan when the chariots reached the Gundicha temple, leading to the congestion and stampede. The deceased are Prabhati Das, Basanti Sahu and Premakant Mohanty, and all hail from Khurda district.

Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi said he seeks forgiveness from Jagannath devotees and tender apology for Puri temple stampede. Law minister Prithivi Raj Harichandan said all arrangements were made to provide the best medical care to those injured in the stampede.

Several people reportedly alleged that the police’s arrangements for crowd control at the spot were insufficient. A man who lost his wife in the stampede alleged that the emergency rescue team failed to respond to the distress.

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Speaking to the media, the man blamed the rescue officials for their lack of alertness and response. “When this incident happened, no one responded, neither the fire officials nor the rescue team nor the hospital team,” news agency ANI quoted the man.

Reacting to the incident, Puri Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain said the bodies of the victims had been sent for autopsy, adding that the post-mortem would reveal the exact cause of death.  Claiming that adequate security arrangements were in place, he stated that the crowd suddenly went out of control, leading to the tragedy.

BJD chief and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described it as a “terrible mess”. “Stampede near Puri temple exposes Odisha govt’s glaring incompetence in ensuring peaceful Rath Yatra for devotees,” he added