Kozhikode: Two elderly women died amidst a stampede caused as a result of two elephants getting agitated following the bursting of crackers during a festival at the Manakulangara Temple near Koyilandy here on Thursday evening, police said.
The elephants were brought for the temple festival and they became agitated and ran towards a small building near the shrine, police said. When the elephants hit the building, a portion of its wall collapsed, leading to some people getting trapped underneath it, police said.
It further said that according to information it has received so far, the collapse of the wall resulted in the death of the two women and serious injuries to a man. "People also panicked which resulted in a stampede leading to around 20 persons suffering minor injuries," an officer of Koyilandy police station said.
The incident occurred around 6 pm, he said.
