left corner left corner
China Daily Website

90 killed in stampede in central India

Updated: 2013-10-14 09:23
( Xinhua)

NEW DELHI - At least 90 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in a stampede in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh Sunday, a senior police official said.

90 killed in stampede in central India

People walk past bodies of victims killed in a stampede on a bridge, near Ratangarh temple in Datia district in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh October 13, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

"The death toll has risen to 91 and 10 others are in a critical condition," Deputy Inspector General of Police D.K. Arya told the media.

"The incident happened at a temple in the state's Datia district, where some 500,000 devotees gathered for a religious festival," he said.

He had earlier put the death toll at between 50 and 60.

Quoting eye-witnesses, some local TV channels reported that the stampede broke out after some devotees jumped queue and police resorted to baton charge to control the crowd.

However, some other media reported the stampede took place after the devotees ran haywire following a rumor that a bridge had collapsed, following which many people even jumped on to a swollen river.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, the official said.

State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of 1.5 lakh rupees ($3,000 dollars) each to the families of the deceased.

In the past year, dozens of people were killed in three similar tragedies. In 2011, over 100 died at a festival in the southern state of Kerala.

Previous Page 1 2 3 Next Page

8.03K
 
...
 
  • Group a building block for Africa

    An unusually heavy downpour hit Durban for two days before the BRICS summit's debut on African soil, but interest for a better platform for emerging markets were still sparked at the summit.
...
...