KOTTAYAM: Nearly 15 people were injured after a mini bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims overturned at Mundakkayam. The accident occurred Sunday morning at around 1 am near Kosadi on the Koruthodu road. The bus overturned after losing control. There were 17 pilgrims from Erode in Tamil Nadu in the bus. The injured was admitted to a private hospital in Mundakayam.

There was another accident at Aryankavu in Kollam when a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims collided with a lorry and overturned. A pilgrim from Salem in Tamil Nadu had died in the incident. About 25 people were injured. He has been identified as Dhanapalan of Salem.

Meantime, Sannidhanam witnessed the biggest rush since the temple opened for mandala poojas yesterday. The queue of people waiting to have darshan in the morning stretched from Pathinettampadi to Saramkuthi. It took more than three hours for the pilgrims to reach the large nadapanthal. All 6 tiers of the shrine were filled for the first time this season. The security personnel gave special consideration to small children, elderly and the disabled, so that they could have a comfortable darshan. Drinking water and snacks were ensured for the pilgrims.

With the increase in crowd, the Indian Reserve Battalion has taken control of the holy steps. The crowd did not subside even in the evening. The virtual queue booking limit approved by the court is 70,000. This will be full in the coming days as well. The board's aim is to enable more devotees to have darshan through spot booking. This time there is a huge increase in the number of devotees and income from the distribution of prasadam.