Over 550 devotees hospitalized, 8 critical during Rath Yatra

Puri: Over 550 devotees were hospitalized after they sustained injuries during the world famous Rath Yatra in Puri on Friday, informed sources adding that the health condition of at least eight of them are critical.

The devotees sustained injuries due to overcrowding during the ‘pulling of the chariot’ ceremony of the Rath Yatra on the Grand Road of the Pilgrim City.

The incident occurred when the pulling of Lord Balabhadra’s Taladhwaja chariot commenced. Out of their devotion and emotion, thousands of devotees rushed to touch the rope of the Taladhwaja chariot and attempted to pull it towards the Gundicha temple, around 2.5 km away.

Sources said that out of the total injured devotees, 581 of them admitted at the High-tech Hospital while 173of them were admitted at the HDU (High Dependency Unit) and 68 of them were provided treatment at the OPD. However, at least 8 devotees were rushed to the District Headquarter Hospital (DHH) as their condition deteriorated.