VANDIPERIYAR (Kerela), Jan 15 (PTI): At least 102 Sabarimala devotees were killed and 50 injured in a stampede when a jeep crashed into homebound pilgrims at Pulmedu in Kerala's Idukki district, in the worst tragedy to strike the worshippers of the famed shrine in a decade.
State DGP Jacob Punnoose said 102 people have been killed in the tragedy that took place last night. "We have recovered all bodies through rescue work conducted overnight despite heavy mist and the remoteness of the hilly terrain", he said.
President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the death of Sabarimala pilgrims.
Singh sanctioned a relief of Rs one lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the stampede and Rs 50,000 to those injured from the Prime Minister's relief fund.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expresses her deep anguish and shock over the tragedy in Sabarimala.
