Witnesses have shared their harrowing accounts of the tragic stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, which resulted in the deaths of at least six people.

One woman, who had traveled with 20 family members, recalled, “When the police opened the gate, pilgrims rushed to get tokens. There was no system in place for token distribution before this.” She described the chaos that followed: “A stampede broke out due to the massive crowd. Out of the twenty members of my family, six were injured. We joined the queue at 11 a.m. and were provided with milk and biscuits while waiting. However, when a large number of male pilgrims surged forward for tokens, several women were injured and taken to the hospital.”

The husband of one of the deceased victims shared his painful story, stating that the stampede occurred as his wife and others were trying to obtain Vaikunta Dwara Darshan tickets. Tragically, this led to her death. He said, “As my wife and others were attempting to get the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan tickets, the stampede occurred, resulting in her death. I have informed our relatives, and they are on their way.”

According to officials from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), six people lost their lives and several others were injured in the stampede, which occurred near Vishnu Nivasam, close to the Tirumala Srivari Vaikuntha Dwara ticketing counter, during the distribution of ‘darshan’ tokens on Wednesday evening.

In a statement from the office of TTD Chairman BR Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his concern over the incident and is personally overseeing the situation. “It is an unfortunate event, and we mourn the loss of six lives. So far, only one victim has been identified, while the others remain unidentified. The Chief Minister has expressed dissatisfaction with the management by the officials during a teleconference and is committed to ensuring such incidents are not repeated. He will meet with the families of the deceased tomorrow at 11:45 a.m.,” the statement read.