At least 17 killed in stampede at religious gathering in India

Incident took spot astatine festival successful northbound Kolkata successful India’s West Bengal authorities amid large crowds and rainfall, constabulary said.

A “stampede” during a Hindu spiritual festival successful eastbound India has killed astatine slightest 17 radical and injured 25, officials said.

A seven-year-old miss was among the fatalities successful Saturday’s catastrophe successful northbound Kolkata successful West Bengal, the state’s Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters.

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“Six bodies person truthful acold been identified,” Adhikari said.

Police said the injured were taken to infirmary from a Durga Puja pandal, a impermanent pavilion lodging idols of the goddess Durga astatine a festival which attracts thousands of ⁠⁠⁠⁠devotees.

A constabulary connection said the stampede happened successful the evening owed to “heavy crowds of pandal hoppers amid rainfall”.

A elder constabulary authoritative astatine the country told the AFP quality bureau that an announcement caused “commotion” aft it started raining and the “crowd waiting extracurricular the pandal [pavilion] was pushing, pulling and rushing guardant and fell connected the ground, starring to the stampede.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as “saddening.”

“Condolences to the bereaved families. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery. The West Bengal Government is providing each imaginable assistance to the affected families,” Modi wrote connected X.

⁠Modi’s bureau announced a ⁠compensation outgo of 200,000 rupees ($2,106) for the adjacent of kin of those who died and ‌50,000 rupees ($527) each for the injured.

Interior Minister Amit Shah said the “administration is ensuring that each imaginable aesculapian facilities are being provided to the injured.”

Deadly assemblage incidents hap often astatine Indian wide events, specified arsenic spiritual festivals, often owed to mediocre absorption and information lapses.

Last year, a stampede astatine India’s Kumbh Mela spiritual just killed 30 radical and injured respective others. In Bengaluru, 11 fans were crushed to decease during celebrations for the section cricket team’s archetypal Indian Premier League title.

In confederate Tamil Nadu state, 36 radical were killed successful a stampede astatine a run rally for a fashionable actor-turned-politician

In 2024, 121 radical were killed successful bluish Uttar Pradesh authorities during a Hindu spiritual gathering.