At least six people were crushed to death at a popular Hindu temple in northern India’s Uttarakhand state on Sunday, officials said, after a massive crowd surge.

The stampede occurred on the stairway leading to the Mansa Devi temple in the Hindu holy city of Haridwar, on the banks of the Ganges River, and left many injured.

“Six dead and more than 10 injured are admitted to the hospital,” senior city police official Parmendra Dobhal told AFP.

Uttarkhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said relief and rescue operations were underway.

“I am constantly in touch with the local administration regarding this matter, and continuous monitoring of the situation is being done,” he said in a statement.

Deadly stampedes and crowd crushes are a common occurrence at Indian religious festivals.

In June, a sudden crowd surge at a Hindu festival in the coastal state of Odisha triggered a stampede that killed at least three people and injured several others.

The previous month, six people were crushed to death in the western state of Goa after thousands gathered for a popular fire-walking ritual.

And in January, at least 30 people were killed in an early morning crush at the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu mega-festival in the northern city of Prayagraj.

Opinion

Editorial

GB Assembly’s demand
Updated 21 Jul, 2026

GB Assembly’s demand

THE newly elected Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly last week adopted a unanimous resolution asking the centre to grant the...
Spain’s statement
21 Jul, 2026

Spain’s statement

IT was a one-sided affair for the most part. The FIFA World Cup 2026 concluded in the early hours of Monday for...
Slow death
21 Jul, 2026

Slow death

MANCHHAR Lake, which is situated at the foot of the Kirthar range, was once Pakistan’s largest freshwater body ...
Unmasking stability
Updated 20 Jul, 2026

Unmasking stability

THREE reports last Friday — a widening food trade gap, return to a current account deficit, and the government’s...
Flood data gap
20 Jul, 2026

Flood data gap

HAVING endured one of its worst floods last year — triggered by intense monsoons and compounded by sudden water...
Zero-dose alert
20 Jul, 2026

Zero-dose alert

ALTHOUGH Pakistan recently announced its first National Vaccine Policy, it will take time before the immunity gap ...