Crowd at temple in India: At least 6 people have died.

At least six people lost their lives in the stampede at the Tirupati temple in India. Venkatesh, one of the victim families, learned about his wife's death from a video that went viral on social media. On January 8, thousands of devotees gathered for a special ceremony at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy Temple in the Tirumala Hills, but this spiritual moment turned into chaos.

One of the victims, Shanthi, had come to the temple to be blessed with her husband Venkatesh and their son. The stampede occurred during the distribution of tickets for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshan ceremony when approximately 5,000 people surged forward as the gates opened.

Venkatesh painfully recounted that he was unaware his wife had fallen in the stampede: "The police management was very weak. My wife was standing at the front of the line. We didn't even realize she had fallen. After the stampede, we desperately searched for her in hospitals but couldn't find her. We learned of her death from a viral video," he told NDTV.

Following the tragedy, videos related to the incident began to spread on social media. Some footage showed the police trying to control the crowd that was pushing each other in the chaos. Other videos showed officials performing CPR on injured devotees during the chaos that followed the stampede.

BR Naidu, the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), stated, "A police officer opened the gates, and immediately everyone surged forward, which led to the stampede."

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of life in the tragic stampede. He contacted officials to check on the medical treatment provided to the injured and instructed senior officials to visit the scene. The Chief Minister also urged officials to take necessary assistance measures and ensure that the injured received proper care.