A stampede at a Hindu temple in central India killed at least 10 people and injured scores early morning today.
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 official said.
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 told. “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 a news network.
Television footage showed bodies of the victims placed side by side, with clothes, shoes and belongings scattered around. Tearful relatives were seen helping police carry the injured to waiting ambulances.
