Thiruvananthapuram: The heavy influx of pilgrims at the Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala led to a near stampede-like situation on Tuesday.

A 58-year-old woman collapsed and died while waiting in queue for darshan, sources from the district administration said.

Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Jayakumar told reporters that the woman's body would be transported back to her native place in an ambulance at the TDB's expense. The deceased woman is from Koyilandy in Kozhikode district, officials said.

Pilgrims were forced to wait in a queue for more than 10 hours for darshan. Many returned without darshan. After waiting for hours, many pilgrims jumped the barricades at the 'Nada pandal' (queue complex) near the temple and rushed towards the 'Pathinettam padi' (18 holy steps).

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