The official report on the Goa stampede tragedy of May 3, 2025, concluded that the incident was entirely preventable and resulted from a series of administrative failures. The fact-finding committee found that poor planning, inadequate crowd control measures, lack of coordination between authorities, and ignored warnings from previous years all contributed to the deadly incident at the Shree Devi Lairai temple festival, where six people died and around 100 were injured.
The official report found that devotees were allowed to enter the sloping pathway from the sacred pond (tali) in groups, which led to a build-up of people on the slope. Overcrowding intensified as some groups of dhonds (devotees) tried to push forward, causing instability. The situation escalated when a woman fell face-first on the slope, triggering a chain reaction where several people behind her lost their balance and fell over one another. Those at the back of the crowd were unaware of the incident and continued moving forward, which ultimately led to the stampede.
The committee also noted that some injured victims recalled a similar minor incident in the past, and there were even unverified reports of a death due to suffocation on the same slope last year. Despite these warnings, the organisers, district administration, and police failed to review previous incidents or implement adequate precautionary measures. As a result, the district magistrate and superintendent of police were transferred immediately after the tragedy.