Una, Himachal Pradesh:

A landslide occurred at a shrine in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district on Monday, killing two devotees and injuring seven others, officials said.

Dera Baba Vadbhag Singh is located about 40 kilometers from Una in Mairi village of Amb subdivision in Una district and attracts a large number of people. People seeking healing for those possessed by “evil spirits.”

Devotees who had come to attend the Baba Vadbhag Singh bazaar were bathing in the holy spring of Charan Ganga around 5 a.m. when a landslide suddenly occurred, killing four people, police said. Five large rocks slid down the mountain.

Bathing in the Charan Ganga is considered sacred and a large number of people gathered at the holy feet of the Ganga on Monday due to the full moon.

Seeing stones rolling down the mountain, people began to panic and a stampede occurred, injuring nine believers.

All the injured were sent to Civil Hospital Amb for treatment, and two of the believers died of their injuries. The deceased were identified as Birla and Balveer Chand, residents of Faridkot in Punjab, officials added.

The police sent the body for autopsy. Five of the injured have been admitted to Una Zonal Hospital, while two others have been shifted to PGI Hospital, Chandigarh.

ASP Sanjeev Bhatia said, “The injured devotees are undergoing treatment.”

Deputy Commissioner Una Jatin Lal said devotees will not be allowed to bathe at the holy feet of Ganga until the situation returns to normal.

SP Una Rakesh Singh said the statements of eyewitnesses at the accident site will also be recorded to understand the real cause of the accident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)