7 injured as firewalking ritual goes wrong during lunar eclipse at 1,300-year-old Telangana temple

HYDERABAD: A heavy crowd at the Sri Parvathi Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Amanagallu village of Vemulapalli mandal, Nalgonda district, led to seven devotees sustaining burn injuries while performing the Agnigundala ritual early on Wednesday morning.

While around 1,500 people usually attend the annual ritual, this year the number was reportedly double, as the ceremony took place immediately after the lunar eclipse, or chandra grahanam.

Of the seven injured, two women suffered over 35% burn injuries and were shifted to Gandhi Hospital in the city for treatment.

"A total of seven were admitted to the hospital this afternoon. Five of them have burns of less than 15% on their hands and legs and will be treated here for the next three to four days. We referred the other two to Gandhi Hospital as they require advanced treatment, which cannot be provided here due to the absence of a dedicated burns ward," said Dr Upendra Singh, RMO of the Govt General Hospital, Suryapet.

He added that the two women transferred to Gandhi Hospital appeared to have sustained more severe injuries in a stampede-like situation near the firewalking area of the temple.

The endowment officer (EO) of the temple, which has a history of approximately 1,300 years, said such an incident had never occurred there before.

"Normally, around 1,500 people attend the ritual, which is always organised on Holi. But this year, because of chandra grahanam, more devotees visited the temple, resulting in the overcrowding that led to this incident," said K Mrityunjay Sastry, EO of the temple.

He added, "The incident occurred when a woman slipped while devotees were carrying the rath across burning coals, causing several others to fall into the fire."

The sarpanch of Amanagallu village, P Sandeep, said that all the injured are from Bheemaram village and are currently being treated in Suryapet.

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