At least three devotees died and several others were injured in a stampede near the Gundicha temple in Puri around 4.20 am on Sunday, police said.
The incident occurred in front of the three chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. Devotees had gathered in large numbers during the early morning hours to catch a glimpse of the deities.
Police attributed the tragedy to poor crowd management and inadequate deployment of personnel near the chariots. Eyewitnesses said there was no visible presence of police or security forces at the site when the crowd surged forward.
Local youths stepped in to control the situation and helped pull out several people who were trapped in the stampede, according to eyewitness accounts.