Patna (India), 17 Aug. (LaPresse/AP) – Seven people have died and several others have been injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the state of Bihar, in north-eastern India. The tragedy occurred near the Ashok Dham temple in Lakhisarai district, where thousands of worshippers had gathered to pray on the third Monday of Shravan, one of the holiest months in the Hindu calendar. More than a dozen people were taken to a public hospital for treatment, said Shailendra Kumar, a local government official, adding that the causes of the stampede are still under investigation. According to initial reports, an electrical cable is believed to have snapped outside the temple complex, causing panic amongst the worshippers, who rushed to flee for fear of being electrocuted. Part of the barrier gave way under the weight of the moving crowd, causing a crush in which people fell on top of one another, Kumar reported, as quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.
India: Stampede near temple, death toll rises to 7
Patna (India), 17 Aug. (LaPresse/AP) – Seven people have died and several others have been injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the state of Bihar, in north-eastern India. The tragedy occurred near the Ashok Dham temple in Lakhisarai district, where thousands of worshippers had gathered to pray on the third Monday of Shravan, one of the holiest months in the Hindu calendar. More than a dozen people were taken to a public hospital for treatment, said Shailendra Kumar, a local government official, adding that the causes of the stampede are still under investigation. According to initial reports, an electrical cable is believed to have snapped outside the temple complex, causing panic amongst the worshippers, who rushed to flee for fear of being electrocuted. Part of the barrier gave way under the weight of the moving crowd, causing a crush in which people fell on top of one another, Kumar reported, as quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.