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Temple stampede in central India kills at least 10

Monday, 25 August 2014


A stampede at a Hindu temple in central India killed at least 10 people and injured scores early Monday, the latest in a string of deadly accidents at mass religious events, officials said. Hundreds of pilgrims gathered at a holy hill in Madhya Pradesh state for a ritual that involves rolling on the ground along the ‘path of worship’ around the site, a state. Rope barriers designed to contain the pilgrims appeared to have given way, sparking panic during the ritual at Chitrakoot in the state's east, the official said. ‘Ten people were killed and over 60 are suspected to be injured in the stampede,’ M.L. Meena, a senior state government official said. ‘During the parikrama (rolling), there was a situation of suffocation and then people started falling over each other and that's what triggered the whole thing,’ police Additional Superintendent Amit Saxena told the NDTV news network. ‘The place is still very chaotic and crowded, but police and ambulances have reached the spot,’ local police control room official Vinay Kumar Singh told by phone, according to AFP.