A stampede broke out at a Hindu temple in northern India yesterday as thousands of people jostled with each other to get free clothes and utensils, leaving at least 63 people dead and dozens more injured, officials said.
The force of the stampede was so great, it knocked down a gate at the temple compound in Kunda, a small town 180km southeast of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.
Up to 10,000 devotees had gathered at the temple around noon to receive free goods to mark the anniversary of the death of the wife of the religious leader, Kripalu Maharaj, said Brij Lal, a local police official
About 44 worshippers were injured in the crush of people at a Hindu Ram Janki temple, said Ashok Kumar, a senior government official.
By late afternoon police had cleared the compound and started the process of identifying the bodies, Kumar said.
“We have now counted all the bodies and they include 37 children and 26 women who had come to collect free gifts,” assistant superintendent of police S.P. Pathak said by telephone from Kunda.
However, “the [death] toll is likely to rise further as many women and children are injured. At least 20 are serious,” Lal said.
Local residents in Kunda village, where the temple is located, helped police carry the injured to nearby hospitals, police said. Hundreds of people gathered at the hospitals for news of their family members.
“She had just wandered in to see what was happening,” said Gudal, a 38-year-old farmer whose seven-year-old daughter, Ranjana, was killed.
Gudal, who uses only one name, wept as she spoke.
According to his Web site, Kripalu Maharaj runs a charitable trust which sets up schools, temples and hospitals and operates five large ashrams, including one in the US.
Stampedes at religious events in India are common as large numbers of excited worshippers pack into congested areas. Panic can spread quickly and, with few safety regulations in place, the result is often lethal.
The deadliest recent incident was in October 2008 when about 220 people died near a temple inside Jodhpur’s famous Mehrangarh Fort.
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