Kerala: Stampede at Sabarimala temple injures 17 pilgrims, one critical

Sabarimala (Kerala) [India], Dec. 25 : At least 17 pilgrims were injured, one of them critically, following a stampede at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala on Sunday.

All the injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment. There was extra rush at the popular temple because of the idol was adorned with the Thanga Angi jewels during the evening puja.

Earlier in 2011, a major stampede had broken out in Sabraimala on Makara Jyothi Day, killing 106 pilgrims and injuring about 100 more.

The stampede began after a Jeep turned over involving hundreds of pilgrims who were returning from a Hindu shrine for the god Ayyappan, on the last day of a yearly festival which attracts devotees from all over.

Source: ANI