At least 12 people were killed and many injured in a stampede at a temple in India.
Thousands of people visited the Hindu temple near Jammu city in the northern Jammu and Kashmir region of the country on Saturday.
Local media reported that the stampede at the Mata Vaishno Devi temple was caused by an argument among visitors.
BBC Delhi correspondent Anbarasan Ethirajan stated that thousands of visitors gathered on the first day of the new year in the temple, which is among the temples that attract the most visitors in India.
The number of visitors to the temple was limited to 25 thousand per day due to the pandemic.
However, the number of visitors to the temple near the city of Katra nearly doubled on Saturday, it said.
16 people were injured in the stampede that took place in the early hours of the morning.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
No official statement has yet been made as to the cause of the stampede, but some eyewitnesses said the crowd was not well-managed.