2025: A Year of Deadly Stampedes

From religious gatherings to public events, 2025 witnessed a series of stampedes and crowd-related incidents that exposed the fragile line between mass participation and human tragedy, leaving behind loss, questions, and urgent lessons on crowd safety.

Andhra Pradesh

IMAGE: The tragedy struck after around 2,500 devotees jostled for tickets for the Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, January 8, 2025 Photograph: ANI Photo

Allahabad

IMAGE: Security personnel assist a person after a stampede before the second Shahi Snan at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, January 29, 2025. Photograph: Sharafat Ali/Reuters

New Delhi

IMAGE: A stampede on February 15, 2025 at New Delhi railway station left 18 people dead and several others injured. Photograph: Ishant/ANI Photo

North Goa

IMAGE: A crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 people gathered to participate in the Lairai Jatra festival.
Some people standing on a slope fell, which caused others to fall over each other, at least six persons were killed, and several sustained injuries after a stampede broke out during a temple festival in North Goa, May 3, 2025. Photograph: Kind courtesy @nileshcabral/X

Bengaluru

IMAGE: Scattered shoes left behind following a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, June 4, 2025. Photograph: Sethuraman N R/Reuters

Odisha

IMAGE: Relatives of stampede victims during the Rath Yatra near the Shree Gundicha remple mourn at a hospital in Puri, June 29, 2025. Photograph: ANI on X

Haridwar

IMAGE: BSF personnel at the spot following a stampede at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar. 6 people died and several others were injured in the stampede, July 17, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Tamil Nadu