India stampede: Six dead as thousands gather for free pass to visit Hindu temple

The period from Friday to Jan. 19 is considered auspicious for visits to the deity at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, popularly known as Tirupati, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, the site of Wednesday's incident.

"The stampede took place when the gate was opened," S. Venkateswar, the district collector, or top revenue official, told reporters on Thursday. "About 2,500 people just pushed through the gate... a few fell."

Authorities were still trying to determine what caused the stampede, he added. Tickets for visits to the nearly 2,000-year-old temple usually cost 300 rupees ($3.50) each and are sold online.

A police complaint showed the incident occurred between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 pm outside a school a few kilometres from the temple, where state authorities had set up counters to issue tickets from Thursday.

Video images showed police struggling to manage the crowd that had gathered, in clips by news agency ANI in which Reuters holds a minority stake.

People who started queuing early for the passes pushed and jostled each other, leading to the stampede, Venkateswar said, and about a dozen of the 35 injured who were taken to hospital were still being treated.

Temple operator, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), apologised for the incident and promised action against anyone found responsible.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inspected the stampede site and visited some of the injured in hospital.

YSR Congress Party, the main opposition party led by Naidu's predecessor Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, blamed the state government for the incident, calling it an administrative failure.

Modi offered condolences in a post on X, adding, "My thoughts are with those who have lost their near and dear ones."