Fear of electrocution initially stalled rescue op at Mansa Devi temple | India News

HARIDWAR: Moments after the crush close to the rear gate of the Mansa Devi temple on Sunday morning, the gang nearest to the useless and severely injured stood paralysed – not from confusion, however from concern. A hearsay had unfold that an electrical present was working by way of the fallen pilgrims, and for a number of minutes, nobody dared to the touch the injured. It wasn’t till a police constable used his persist with prod a physique that the hesitation broke, and the primary rescues started.The stampede left eight folks useless and at least 45 injured. Officials later dominated out any electrical fault at the location. But in these early minutes, it wasn’t the presence of hazard that slowed the rescue-it was the concern of it.Constable Sanjay Kapoor, stationed round 30 metres from the spot, mentioned the gang had begun urgent in each instructions at a pointy bend within the uphill lane. The stress constructed rapidly. Several folks stumbled and fell, triggering panic. “Suddenly there was shouting – someone said there was current in the bodies, and people stopped moving,” Kapoor informed TOI. “I had a stick, so I touched a young man on the ground with it. When nothing happened, we started pulling people out.”With assist from close by shopkeepers and some pilgrims, Kapoor managed to maneuver greater than 15 folks from the crush. “Some of them were unconscious, and a few weren’t breathing. It was a horrific scene,” he mentioned. The injured have been introduced contained in the temple compound earlier than being shifted downhill for therapy.Rajendra Giri, who runs a store close to the rear gate, was among the many first to hitch the trouble. “The path was overcrowded. Some people tried to climb the side wall, but many were stuck at the bend and couldn’t move because of the pressure from behind,” he mentioned. “I helped pull out five people with Kapoor. One had burns on his hand and stomach, but we don’t know how. People were still afraid to touch anyone because of that rumour.”Once the useless and the injured have been laid out contained in the temple, ropeway employees started bringing them down the hill. At the bottom, native youths waited with motorbikes to move them to hospital. “I carried five people on my bike,” mentioned Baldev Saini. “We didn’t stop to ask questions. We just took them as fast as we could.”