A stampede at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, killed nine people and injured 28 others on Sunday morning, July 27, 2025, according to local officials. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. as hundreds of devotees gathered at the hilltop shrine during peak visiting hours.
The victims were identified as Shanti Devi, 60, and her husband Rambharose, 65, both from Badaun, Uttar Pradesh; Sakal Dev, 35, from Araria, Bihar; Arush, 6, Vicky Saini, 18, and Vishal Kumar, 19, all from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh; Vakeel Prasad, 45, from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh; and Vipin Saini, 19, from Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar. Four people remain in critical condition, including Diksha, 26, and her daughter Akankshi, 4, from Rampur; Phoolmati, 52, from Lucknow; and Kavita, 23, from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
More than 5,000 devotees, mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, were present on the pedestrian route at the time of the incident. Officials determined the stampede was triggered by rumors of electrical wires causing electrocution, which created panic among the crowd on the narrow pathway leading to the temple entrance.
Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Dobal indicated that around 35 people were rescued from the scene. AIIMS Rishikesh received 15 patients, with five discharged, four admitted to the intensive care unit, and six placed in other wards.
The area’s Station House Officer Ritesh Shah noted the crowd flow was typical for a Sunday morning, explaining they had seen larger crowds during special occasions like the Kanwar Yatra and Ganga Dussehra. Shah suggested the stampede may have been caused by rumors after some young people climbed a wall, leading other devotees to panic and fall on each other.
Videos from the incident showed massive crowds of people, including children and women, struggling through the narrow entrance to the temple, which is less than three meters wide and encroached upon on one side by shops. Survivors reported that shopkeepers refused to allow panicked devotees to take shelter in their establishments during the chaos.
Nirmala, a 28-year-old survivor who lost her eight-year-old son Arush in the stampede, described the harrowing experience. She had been ascending the ramp around 8 a.m. with her two children when she heard incoherent shouts from the crowd. The massive crowd exiting the temple through the same narrow ramp collided with those entering, causing people to fall and be trampled.
Local priest Ujjwal Pandit explained to Associated Press that someone in the crowd shouted about an electric current on the pathway, and since the path is narrow and meant only for foot traffic, confusion and panic spread instantly. A wall along the path is suspected to have worsened the crowd bottleneck.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the hospital to assess the condition of the injured and announced compensation of 200,000 rupees for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees for each injured person. District Magistrate Mayur Dixit confirmed that people died of chest injuries and no one died of electrocution. The pedestrian route was immediately closed after the incident to prevent additional pressure at the site.
Dhami ordered a magisterial probe into the incident, to be headed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate who must submit a detailed report within 15 days. The investigation will examine what caused the panic and whether proper crowd management protocols were in place.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences on social media, stating: “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives.” President Droupadi Murmu also expressed grief over the incident. Later in the day, Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Mansa Devi temple trust, announced 500,000 rupees for the families of the deceased and 100,000 rupees for the injured.
The Mansa Devi temple, considered a sidhpeeth, is situated on Bilva hilltop in Haridwar at 1,770 feet above sea level on the Shivalik Hills. The temple is one of the five sacred sites or Panch Tirthas of Haridwar and attracts large numbers of pilgrims year-round, particularly between July and August.
Temple staff estimated that around 20,000 people reached the temple between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Sunday. The facility typically sees crowds of over 6,000 people on most days during Sawan month, managed through 27 cable cars in the ropeway system. Staff noted that police usually close the ramp when the complex fills with devotees, but the pedestrian path remained open until the incident occurred.
This incident represents the latest in a series of stampedes at Hindu religious gatherings in India. Recent similar incidents include three deaths at a religious gathering in Puri last month, 79 deaths at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in February, and 11 deaths at a victory parade for an Indian Premier League team in May.