LUCKNOW, India: At least five devotees died and 40 others were injured Tuesday after a wooden platform collapsed during a religious gathering in northern India, an official said.
The incident happened in Baghpat district, north of the capital New Delhi, where hundreds of devotees from the Jain faith had gathered at a temple to make offerings of confectionery.
“A wooden structure collapsed resulting in the death of five people,” district magistrate Asmita Lal told AFP.
“Forty others were injured, out of which 20 have been sent home after first aid,” she added.
The platform is erected every year during the festival to mark the salvation of the Jain deity Adinatha, NDTV news network reported.
“The priests went to offer laddoos (sweets) and the platform collapsed, along with hundreds of devotees on it,” Rakesh Jain, one of the devotees, told the broadcaster.
Deadly accidents are common at places of worship in India during major religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses.
Last year, 121 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh state during a stampede at the end of a religious sermon.
Another 112 people died in 2016 after a huge explosion caused by a banned fireworks display marking the Hindu new year at a temple in southern Kerala state.
Tuesday’s accident comes as millions of devotees participate in the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival of prayer and ritual bathing being held at the nearby city of Prayagraj.
Jainism is an ancient Indian religion — followed by less than one percent of India’s 1.25 billion people — that preaches non-violence, strict vegetarianism and love for all creatures great and small.
