Two women pilgrims from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh died while a five-year-old girl was grievously injured in a landslide on the new track to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Monday, officials said.
The registration at Mata Vaishno Devi Bhawan in Katra resumed hours after the stampede incident, in which 12 people were killed and several others were left injured.
The Saturday stampede that killed 12 people occurred 'due to a scuffle between two groups of pilgrims', the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) said in a statement, emphasising only 35,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed for the yatra against the normal capacity of 50,000 in view of the pandemic.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told PTI that preliminary information from the scene suggests there was a minor altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation.
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