A 53-year-old priest of the Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple died after slipping and falling off a platform that held an 18-feet statue of Lord Anjaneya.

Venkatesan lost his balance and fell down following a ritual that involved garlanding the statue. The tragic event was caught on camera. “After he had conducted the milk abishegam ritual for Hanuman, Venkatesan was garlanding the idol with Tulsi. While he was trying to turn back, accidentally, he fell down from the eight feet high stage made for helping the priests to garland the massive idol,” according to a source.

The priest reportedly suffered severe head injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital soon after. Unfortunately, Venkatesan succumbed to his injuries following blood loss on Tuesday.