At least three people have passed away, and more than a dozen others were reported injured and rushed to a nearby hospital after a crowd surge and stampede incident at the Hindu festival in India.
Hundreds of thousands of devotees were gathered at the eastern Indian city of Puri to catch a glimpse of the religious parade when the crowd started to surge.
There was a sudden crowd surge of devotees for having a glimpse of the Hindu deities, during which a few people ended up fainting, suffocating, or complaining of breathing issues.
One government official stated that investigations are currently on the rise to figure out how exactly the situation got out of control so quickly, as the number of attendees was far greater than what they were anticipating this year.
The Associated Press shared how the incident arose at the city of Puri, which is present in the state of Odisha in the eastern part of India. Many reported high temperatures being a major reason for people fainting and getting claustrophobic.