(MENAFN- Live Mint) At least nine people, including a woman and a 12-year-old boy, were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Kasibugga temple in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam.

The death toll was earlier put at 10 by Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, but was later corrected to nine.

"Nine (deaths). Nine only, (Condition of) one person is bit serious. He is not dead. Total nine people. One child is there, a 12-year-old child; the remaining (victims) are all female. And it is a private temple. It is not a government temple. It was constructed recently,” KV Maheswara Reddy, the Srikakulam Superintendent of Police, told news agency PTI.

The police official revealed that the incident occurred when an iron grill collapsed near the steps at the entrance of the temple. The public panicked and fell from a height of around six feet. The police said that since the collapse was from the six-feet height, one person fell on the other, leading to the crush.

"It is purely an accident and due to the owner's mistake. They haven't applied for police bandobust, there were no permissions also," the SP told PTI.

"It's a private temple, where a private person has constructed this on his private land. He hasn't taken any permission and hasn't informed the local Police about today's program...In the morning, when we got the information, we had sent the force but it was too late by then because there was no prior information from the temple person who was organising this program. So, because of that, there was no communication yesterday or today," the SP said in an interview with ANI.

"Once we have got the information, we had sent it. Now, the situation is totally peaceful. Around 3000-3500 people were here. Only 2 are in serious condition but everyone else is fine," he also added.

3rd stampede in Andhra in 2025

This is the third major stampede in Andhra Pradesh in 2025, and a total of 22 people have died in these incidents while nearly 100 persons have been injured.

In April, seven people were killed after a rain-soaked wall collapsed at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy in Simhachalam near Visakhapatnam.

In January, six people died and around 40 were injured in a stampede at Tirupati's Bairagi Patteda. Devotees had gathered there to collect tickets for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple on Tirumala hills.

Series of tragedies strike Andhra Pradesh this week

Andhra Pradesh is grappling with three tragedies in a span of around a week. First, 20 people were killed in Kurnool when a Bengaluru-bound bus caught fire. Then, the cyclonic storm Montha ravaged the coastal areas of the state, leaving behind damages worth ₹5,244-crore, and now the stampede has led to the loss of nine lives.

Leaders from across the political spectrum have expressed their condelences in the wake of the tragedy. From President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi - all have posted messages of consolation on social media.

MENAFN02112025007365015876ID1110281326