Two killed, 10 injured in stampede in Puri Rathyatra

PURI (ODISHA): Two women were killed and 10 injured, two of them critically, in a stampede during Lord Jagannath's Rathyatra in this temple town today.

While one woman was killed near Balagandi square when Lord Balabhadra's chariot "Taladhwaja" was passing through the area on the Grand Road, another died in a similar incident near Marichkot Chak, police said.

The injured were admitted to the district headquarters hospital here and two of them were later shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack, it said.

The stampede was the result of a sudden surge in the crowd surrounding the chariot as it was proceeding towards the Gundicha Temple, police said adding details are awaited.

The identity of the deceased, aged around 60 years, is yet to be ascertained.