At least six persons were killed and over 20 injured in a stampede in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.

The incident took place after more than 4,000 persons gathered at a location to collect tickets for a special darshan at the Sri Venkateswara temple, according to India Today.

The injured were taken to the government-run Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Hospital for treatment.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the trust that runs the temple, said that it had arranged special counters at about 90 locations to issue tokens starting Thursday for a special darshan at the temple on the occasion of the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival, The Hindu reported.

The festival is celebrated for 10 days and is attended by lakhs of devotees.

Tokens were also being distributed at the MGM High School at Bairagipatteda, The Indian Express reported. Thousands of devotees started gathering at the counters on Wednesday morning for the tokens. By evening, the crowd reportedly began jostling at the counters.

The stampede was triggered when the gate was opened to let a woman who was feeling unwell go out, said Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Chairman BR Naidu. However, the crowd pushed in all at once, he added.

BR Naidu later said that a detailed report in the matter would be released soon, reported ANI.

The persons killed were identified as 38-year-old S Lavanya, 55-year-old Buddeti Naidu Babu, 33-year-old Kandipalli Santhi and 47-year-old G Rajini from Andhra Pradesh, 50-year-old Malliga from Tamil Nadu and 55-year-old V Nirmala from Kerala, The Hindu reported.

The Tirupati East Police registered two first information reports in the matter, ANI reported.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the incident and said that he had directed officials to visit the site to provide relief.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of those who died.

“Pained by the stampede in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh,” he said on social media. “The AP [Andhra Pradesh] government is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said that the news about the stampede was “deeply saddening” and urged Congress workers “to provide all possible assistance during this difficult time”.

On Thursday, the state government announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh to the families of those killed in the stampede, The Hindu reported.