Three elderly persons died amidst a stampede caused as a result of two elephants getting agitated following the bursting of crackers during a festival at the Manakulangara Temple near Koyilandy in Kozhikode on Thursday evening, police said.
The elephants were brought for the temple festival and they became agitated and ran towards a small building near the shrine, police said.
When the elephants hit the building, a portion of its wall collapsed, leading to some people getting trapped underneath it, police said.
It further said that according to information it has received so far, the collapse of the wall resulted in the death of the two women and a man.
"People also panicked which resulted in a stampede leading to around 20 persons suffering minor injuries," an officer of Koyilandy police station said.
The incident occurred around 6 pm, he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the deaths and said it was a tragic incident.
Following the incident, state Forest Minister A K Saseendran sought an urgent report regarding the incident from the District Collector and the Chief Forest Conservator (Social Forestry) of the Northern Region.
The minister said that further action will be taken based on the report and that it will also be investigated whether there has been a violation of the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules, according to a government statement.
Meanwhile, state Health Minister Veena George directed that special arrangements be made at the Koyilandy Taluk Hospital and Kozhikode Medical College for treatment of those injured in the incident.
George also instructed that there should be enough expert doctors, nurses and other staff at the two hospitals for treatment of the injured, the statement said.