Bhubaneswar, June 30 -- Three devotees, including two women, were killed and over 50 were injured early Sunday morning in a stampede at Saradhabali area, near Gundicha temple in Puri. Puri district collector Siddharth Swain said three people were killed and six injured. Police have identified the deceased as Basanti Sahu (36) from Bolagarh, Premakant Mohanty and Pravati Das of from Balipatna, an area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. According to eyewitnesses, around 4am, two trucks loaded with Charamala wood (considered sacred) entered the Saradhabali area near the Gundicha Temple, about 3 km from the main Jagannath Temple, where over 1,500 devotees were seated, waiting for the deities in the chariots to be unveiled to the public. The unexpected arrival of the trucks ensuing chaos. Expressing grief, Odisha law minister Prithviraj Harichandan said the state government will conduct a thorough probe into the incident. "Strict action will be taken after the investigation. The chief minister has been informed," he added. Director general of police (DGP) YB Khurania along with other senior police officers have visited the spot. "People just fell over each other in a matter of seconds and many fell unconscious. I rushed to the information centre seeking help, but they could not do anything. Even the ambulance was stationed at least a kilometre away," an eyewitness said. "Usually, the gates are not closed after the deities reach the Gundicha temple on chariots. This year for no reason, they stopped it after midnight and it led to surge in crowd who were anxious to see the Lord," said another eyewitness. Meanwhile, over 700 were admitted to hospitals over complaints of suffocation and nausea on Friday when a stampede like situation occurred during the pulling of chariot of Lord Balabhadra. P4...