At least six girl students were hospitalised after being injured in a stampede-like situation at the Jagannath Temple in Puri. The condition of the girls is stable at present.
The girl students who were part of a 70-member group of boys and girls from Hrudananda High School in the Mayurbhanj district, had come to Puri on Monday for a picnic during the Christmas holidays.
The students, who were at the beach throughout the day, went to visit the 12th-century shrine in the evening before returning home.
While climbing the 22 steps ('Baisi Pahacha') to the temple around 8 pm, the girls were caught in a stampede-like situation and fainted, a temple office-bearer said. There were a large number of visitors to the temple during the day.
The injured girls, students of classes 9 and 10, were later rescued and admitted to a local hospital.
ALSO READ | West Bengal stampede: Six held in connection with incident at religious event in Paschim Bardhaman
