Death toll rises after stampede at Hindu temple
THE death toll rose to 115 from a stampede of Hindu worshippers near a temple in central India, most of the victims being women and children, officials said yesterday.
The stampede occurred at a bridge over the Sindh river near the Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh state, where thousands went to offer prayers on Sunday on the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
Police said panic was triggered by a rumour that the bridge was about to collapse.
“After a toll of 89 on Sunday night, 26 more deaths were reported by relatives who took the wounded and bodies from the accident site to their homes and hospitals,” a senior police officer said by telephone. Rescue operations were concluded by Sunday night, he said.
There were more than 30 children among the victims, police said. More than 100 people were injured and 10 of them were in a serious condition in hospital.
Nearly 150,000 pilgrims had gathered at the Ratangarh temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday to celebrate the end of the Hindu holy festival of Navratri.
Devotees thronging towards the temple across a long, concrete bridge panicked when some railings broke, triggering the stampede, Dilip Arya, a deputy inspector-general of police, told Reuters.
Many victims were crushed by the crowd while others drowned when they fell or jumped into the fast-flowing Sindh river, swollen by heavy rain.
An estimated 25,000 people were on the 500m bridge when the panic broke out. Police denied reports that several people were missing after having jumped into the river.
“Divers conducted searches and no body has been found. It’s now over 24 hours since the accident and no bodies were found floating on the river either,” Mr Arya said.
Angry devotees alleged that a police baton charge had led to the stampede, and blamed police for fail- ing to manage the crowds. A similar tragedy occurred on the same bridge in 2006, when more than 50 pilgrims were killed.
The police “led to panic and many people were trampled to death”, a survivor told CNN-IBN television. “I was near the exit point, but two of my children who were much behind me in the crowds died.”
But police said a group of youths who were tired of waiting spread a rumour that the bridge was on the verge of collapse, resulting in panic, which led to the stampede.
“I am going to Ratangarh, Datia today to take firsthand account of the situation. Guilty would be punished at the earliest,” Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote on Twitter.
The state government announced compensation of 150,000 rupees ($2,500) to relatives of the deceased.
Stampedes at religious sites are common in India. In February, a crush at the world’s largest religious festival killed 36 Hindu pilgrims.