For 5 minutes, we thought all of us were dead, says Tirupati stampede survivor 

"For five minutes, we thought all of us were dead. I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," D Venkata Lakshmi said, recounting the horrific Tirupati stampede that killed six persons and left over 40 injured.

Many others who escaped the tragedy on Wednesday night complained about long waiting hours to get tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam to sudden opening of the gates that prompted the crowd to surge ahead.

Venkata Lakshmi told a vernacular news channel that six boys pulled her aside and gave some water to drink after the crowd surge led to the deadly stampede. According to Lakshmi, people rushed forward and up to 10 people fell down where she was standing.

Naidu orders judicial probe, transfers 3 officials

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday said he would order a judicial inquiry into the stampede incident, besides transferring three senior officials, including a DSP. He said he noticed some loopholes in the administration and monitoring mechanisms in Tirupati which should have been 'perfect'. Expressing grief over the incident, Naidu said he is announcing Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to those injured.

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"Though I raised a hue and cry that I was falling on the side, people were still rushing from behind and could not be controlled. I don't know if they were pushing ahead, but the men were uncontrollable. People were walking over devotees. I could not even breathe for a long time," she said.

Further, had the police allowed devotees to proceed in an orderly way, this disaster could have been averted, she said. Another devotee said she came around 11 am on Wednesday and the gate was opened at 7 pm. "One person told devotees not to rush and go in a line, but who will listen. The police were outside, not inside," she said.

Another devotee insisted the police were told about the presence of 5,000 devotees. He claimed that the police opened the gates suddenly, leading to the stampede.

On Wednesday night, six devotees died and nearly 40 more were injured in the stampede at Bairagi Patteda near MGM School in Tirupati as hundreds of them jostled for tickets for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills. Hundreds of devotees turned up from across the country for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam commencing from January 10.