Rumour of Snapped Power Line Led to Deadly Panic. Eight Devotees Killed, Dozens Injured in Tragic Incident
July 27, 2025: A stampede on the busy pedestrian path leading to Haridwar’s famous Mansa Devi temple on Saturday morning killed eight people and hurt 34 more. The district hospital is treating the other injured people, but two of them are in serious condition and have been sent to higher medical institutes. There are 20 males, 8 women, and 7 children (2 boys and 5 girls) who were hurt.
Eight people died in a stampede at a temple in Haridwar. People think it was a rumor, not a power line, that caused it.
Around 8:30 AM, the event happened. Reports at first said that the stampede was caused by a power line breaking and falling on a packed part of the walkway, which scared a lot of pilgrims. Ritesh Saha, who is in charge of the city police station, said, “The sight of the wire falling caused immediate panic, and a desperate scramble to escape led to the stampede.” Hospital officials said that one person was burned because they were shocked, and the other people died from injuries they got during the stampede.
Authorities are now looking into whether a rumor that a power line broke, rather than a genuine power line breakdown, was the main cause. Vinay Shankar Pandey, the Garhwal Division Commissioner, told , “At first glance, it looks like the incident was caused by a rumor that a power line had broken. There is an in-depth inquiry going on right now to find out what happened.
The Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) also looked at all of Mansa Devi’s electrical panels and power lines after the incident, which made things even more complicated. Anil Kumar, the Managing Director of UPCL, said that “no leakage of electric current in any of their assets” could have caused the incident. He said that the Low Tension lines that transmit power there are completely insulated and don’t have any exposed conductors. He also said that no one was found to have been shocked or electrocuted by their assets. Kumar said that the “tragic incident likely happened because of a large, uncontrolled crowd.”
Emergency services and police units got to the site quickly. Authorities are still working to find the bodies of the dead and send them for post-mortem tests.
Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister, said he was very unhappy about the event and called it “extremely saddening.” He promised to help in any way he could and said that SDRF, the local police, and other rescue teams are already there. “I am in constant contact with the local government and keeping a close eye on the situation. I pray to Mata Rani for the safety of all devotees,” Dhami wrote on the social media site X.