Many Dead in Temple Stampede
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Friday, March 05, 2010
At least 63 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police say.
Dozens more were injured in the panic at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 650km (400 miles) south-east of Delhi.
All of the dead identified so far are women and children, police say. The temple gate was still being built.
Hundreds of people have been killed in stampedes at crowded Indian temples in recent years. Thursday's disaster happened at a popular Ram Janaki temple in the town of Kunda in Pratapgarh district, about 25km (15 miles) north of the city of Allahabad.
The temple is owned by a Hindu holy man, Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who police say was marking the anniversary of the death of his wife with a ritual feast. Thousands of people had gathered for the ceremonial feast and free distribution of clothes - the stampede occurred when people scrambled to collect the offerings being handed out.
Police officials said an iron gate leading to the temple complex collapsed, leading to a crowd surge.
"We have now counted all the bodies and they include 37 children and 26 women who had come to collect free gifts," assistant superintendent of police SP Pathak told the media. Emergency teams and ambulances were rushed to the site, some from neighbouring districts and the injured have been taken to hospitals.
Hundreds of people gathered at local hospitals for news of their relatives.
"She had just wandered in to see what was happening," 38-year-old Gudal, whose seven-year-old daughter died in the stampede, told the Associated Press news agency.
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Ms Mayawati, has ordered an inquiry into the incident.