At least nine people—eight women and a boy—were killed and many others injured in a temple stampede here in Srikakulam district on Saturday, said an official.

However, Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar earlier put the toll at 10.

The stampede occurred at Venkateswara temple in Kasibugga town at around 11.30 am, said Kasibugga sub-division in-charge DSP Lakshman Rao.

“Nine (deaths). Nine only, (Condition of) one person is bit serious. He is not dead. Total nine people. One child is there, a 12-year-old child; the remaining (victims) are all female. And it is a private temple. It is not a government temple. It was constructed recently,” Srikakulam Superintendent of Police KV Maheswara Reddy told PTI.

The police official further said that the incident occurred due to th

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