A giant flag pole fell onto a crowd of devotees celebrating the Holi festival in northern India on Friday (March 13th), injuring eight people.

The incident took place in the city of Dehradun in Uttarakhand state as the 105-foot ceremonial pole was being installed.

According to reports, wooden clamps on the giant flag pole came loose causing it to topple into the crowd.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

Panic struck one of the largest festivals in northern India when a 105-feet-tall flag at Jhanda Mela (a north Indian festival) came crumbling down upon the devotees in the state of Uttarakhand.

The incident took place at Dehradun on March 13, 2020.

On the fifth day of Holi festival (festival of colours) people from various parts of India and abroad gather at the Darbar Sahib, a Sikh temple, once every year in large numbers to celebrate the arrival of Ram Rai, the eldest son of the Seventh Sikh Guru.

The Jhanda Mela begins with the hoisting of a new flag, Jhanda Sahib, on a 105-feet-tall pole outside the Darbar Sahib.

The pole, which is a tree trunk brought from a nearby forest, is changed every three years.

According to reports, this year the region witnessed torrential rainfall just before the festival.

Due to the rain, the wooden clamps on the flag pole came off loose.

Following this, the pole crumbled down upon thousands of devotees who had come to witness the flag hoisting, injuring around eight.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.