The security staff of President Pratibha Patil had to cut short her first public interaction on her maiden foreign tour on Sunday as the crowd became unmanageable.

It was a rare photo opportunity for dozens of Indians in this commercial capital of Brazil as Patil, 73, began the first leg of her three-nation tour to Latin America.

After her inaugural speech at the reception hosted in her honour, the organisers of the function, possibly surprised at an early end of the meeting, asked all those who had gathered to line up for a photo op with Patil.

In no time, the entire hall at a five-star hotel saw people queuing up for the photo-op, taking her security personnel by surprise.

After nearly 30 minutes, the organisers, unable to cope up with the rush, decided to end the impromptu event. The President was quickly escorted out of the room.

Patil is on a 13-day visit to Brazil, Mexico and Chile.