VANDIPERIYAR, India, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The southern Indian state of Kerala's government has announced a "thorough investigation" into the Sabarimala stampede case that saw 110 persons killed and at least 50 injured.
State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told Xinhua in an interview that "a thorough investigation will be done and the state government will meet all the expenses for transporting the bodies to their homes."
"As the first step, a sum of 5,000 rupees (100 U.S. dollars) to the injured has been sanctioned," Isaac said.
Isaac reached the hospital at noon and said the state government will meet the expenses for treating the injured even if they have been admitted to private hospitals in Idukki and Kottayam districts.
"We are told the gruesome accident took place around 20:00 p.m. at Pulumedu. The entire place was full of vehicles and more than a lakh of pilgrims were returning from a hillock after seeing the celestial light that appeared on the horizon soon after 19:00 p.m., " Issac said.
"Suddenly a jeep that broke down lost control and rammed into the waiting pilgrims. This created panic, leading to the stampede, " he explained.
The Sabarimala Temple is in Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, situated on the Western Ghat ranges at an altitude of 914 meters above the sea level, four kilometers uphill from the river Pampa.
Pamba, the base camp to the Sabarimala Temple, has been overflowing with pilgrims since the past few days.
Meanwhile, Union Defense Minister A.K. Antony called it a national tragedy and said that he had directed the defense forces to see into this and get ready to provide support.
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