Stampede in India Kills 10 Pilgrims Attending Hindu Festival
|
Version 0 of 1. NEW DELHI — A stampede outside a temple early on Monday morning during a Hindu religious festival in eastern India left 10 pilgrims dead, government officials said. A large mob had tried to force its way past a line of tens of thousands outside the Baidyanath temple in Deoghar, in Jharkhand State, said Ameet Kumar, the deputy commissioner of Deoghar. P. Murugan, the superintendent of the police in Deoghar, said that about 20 pilgrims were injured in the stampede, which happened in the middle of Shravani Mela, a monthlong festival honoring the Hindu god Shiva. Pilgrims were entering the temple with offerings of water from the Ganges River, he said. Mr. Kumar said that the mob trampled several people who had been sleeping on the road under tents. The festival, which began Aug. 1 and is to conclude at the end of the month, draws the largest crowds on Mondays, which are considered auspicious. Nearly 150,000 people visited the temple on Aug. 3, Mr. Murugan said. Festival stampedes are common in India, where thousands often flock to temples from miles away. At least 27 pilgrims were killed during a religious festival in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in July. In 2013, 36 people died in the northern city of Allahabad at the Kumbh Mela, a festival that draws millions from across the country. |