In one of the worst pilgrimage tragedies in the country, 104 Ayyappa devotees were killed and at least 50 injured, in a stampede at Pulmedu (Idukki district) in Kerala. It occured at Pulmedu in Vandiperiyar after the Maraka Jyoti darshan at Sabarimala.
The stampede was triggered when a jeep carrying pilgrims ran into a crowd (that consisted of home-bound devotees) and overturned. Some were killed on the spot, having been trapped under the jeep, and the ensuing panic then led to the stampede.
Pulmedu is located in the Periyar tiger reserve, in the hilly Idukki district, away from the Sabarimala police protection area. Relief and rescue operations, thus, were delayed.
Most of those killed are from Tamil Nadu, reports say. Massive crowds of devotees from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, too, throng Sabarimala.
A special team of the National Disaster Response Force has left for the spot.
The PM has announced Rs. 1 lakh for the families of each of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for those injured.