Stampede kills scores at Indian temple
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2008 11:49
Over 100 people are reported to have died after a stampede at a Hindu temple in India.
The incident, which occurred in the historic town of Jodhpur in India's western state of Rajasthan, saw panic break out after the collapse of a wall.
Police officers at the Chamunda Devi temple blamed severe overcrowding for the deaths which followed.
Over 50 others were injured as a result of the panic.
Worshippers had been gathering at the Chamunda temple in the hill-top Mehrangarh Fort to mark the start of the major Hindu festival Navaratri.
One witness told the Reuters news agency: "The stampede started after a barricade near the temple broke and there was huge confusion and people started running down a steep slope and fell on each other."
It comes just weeks after a similar incident saw 145 die. August 3rd saw Hindu pilgrims die when rumours of a landslide sparked panic in the remote Naina Devi Temple.
Chris O'Toole