Three stampede victims yet to be identified

PURI: A day after six devotees were killed and about 100 injured in a series of stampedes during Lord Jagannath's Rathayatra here, three bodies were yet to be identified.

"Only three of the six bodies received by us after the stampede have been identified so far. Efforts are on to establish the identify of the other three victims," hospital sources said.

Post-mortem and inquest of the bodies have already been performed and the reports were awaited, the sources said.

The process was on to hand over the three identified bodies to their families, the sources said.

Nearly 20 injured pilgrims were undergoing treatment at a hospital here, while two others, whose condition was critical, had been shifted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack, official sources said.

Most of the injured had been discharged after first aid and preliminary treatment last evening.

Six pilgrims were killed and about 100 others injured after falling down and being crushed by a surging crowd during the procession of the idols to the chariots on Friday due to sudden break in the barricade.

Meanwhile, the chariots of Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra, which had stopped mid-way after sunset on Friday, were pulled by devotees on Saturday to Gundicha temple, their aunt's abode where they will stay for nine days.