Lankan dies in stampede in India
January 15, 2011 03:03 pm
One Sri Lankan is among those killed in the stampede that occurred yesterday (January 14) night near the Sabarimala temple in India. The stampede occurred when the pilgrims were returning after watching the celestial Makara Jyothi light, the most important event of the pilgrimage.
As the death toll in the stampede mounted to 104 on Saturday, doctors at a government hospital in this Kerala town busied themselves in one of the biggest post-mortem procedures in the state. A team of 60 doctors began the grim task at the Kumily government hospital, some 15 km from the accident site in Idukki district.
Hospital authorities said 20 autopsies are being conducted at a time.
One Sri Lankan was killed, while 18 are from Tamil Nadu, 12 hail from Karnataka, six from Andhra Pradesh and three belong to Kerala, hospital official said.
State finance minister Thomas Issac reached the hospital and said that the state government will meet the expenses for treating the injured, including those being treated in private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
“We are told the gruesome accident took place around 8.00pm at Pulumedu. The entire place was full of vehicles and more than a lakh of pilgrims were returning from a hillock after seeing the celestial light that appeared on the horizon soon after 7pm,” Issac said.
“Suddenly a jeep that broke down lost control and rammed into the waiting pilgrims. This created panic, leading to the stampede,” said Thomas. – (IANS)
As the death toll in the stampede mounted to 104 on Saturday, doctors at a government hospital in this Kerala town busied themselves in one of the biggest post-mortem procedures in the state. A team of 60 doctors began the grim task at the Kumily government hospital, some 15 km from the accident site in Idukki district.
Hospital authorities said 20 autopsies are being conducted at a time.
One Sri Lankan was killed, while 18 are from Tamil Nadu, 12 hail from Karnataka, six from Andhra Pradesh and three belong to Kerala, hospital official said.
State finance minister Thomas Issac reached the hospital and said that the state government will meet the expenses for treating the injured, including those being treated in private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
“We are told the gruesome accident took place around 8.00pm at Pulumedu. The entire place was full of vehicles and more than a lakh of pilgrims were returning from a hillock after seeing the celestial light that appeared on the horizon soon after 7pm,” Issac said.
“Suddenly a jeep that broke down lost control and rammed into the waiting pilgrims. This created panic, leading to the stampede,” said Thomas. – (IANS)
