Authorities of one of India’s richest temples have apologised after at least six pilgrims were killed in a stampede in the southern temple town of Tirupati. The devotees were waiting in queues to collect tokens from over 90 counters to offer prayers to Lord Venkateshwara Swamy on Wednesday when the incident took place, local police said.

A temple stampede left six worshippers dead and 40 injured in India. More than 4,000 devotees were in line to receive special darshan tokens in Bairagi Pattida Park during the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam season when a worshipper reportedly fell ill,

In spite of lakhs of people visiting the temple towns of Tirumala and Tirupati, stampedes involving devotees are rare. So what happened this time? We explain.

At least six people were crushed to death and more than 30 injured when large crowds gathered to get tickets for a festival in India’s Tirupati temple, one of the richest in the world. The incident occurred late on Wednesday when hundreds of devotees jostled for tickets for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam starting January 10 at the Venkateshwara Temple,