Stampede Kills 24 In India At Hindu Ceremony

MEP: At least 24 people have been killed and 20 others injured in a stampede as tens of thousands of people attended a Hindu religious event in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Saturday’s crush happened on the outskirts of Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh state known for its temples, as people tried to cross a crowded bridge over the Ganges river.

Millions of Hindus go to Varanasi every year to pray and wash away their sins by taking a dip in the sacred river Ganges.

“We were not prepared for such a large crowd,” Raj Bahadur, a spokesman for the organisers said.

The stampede happened as police started turning back people from the overcrowded bridge, the Press Trust of India news agency cited Bahadur as saying. That triggered a rumor among the devotees that the bridge had collapsed, and they started running for safety, he said.

Some of the injured people are in a serious condition in hospital. Of the 20 dead, 14 are women.

Deadly stampedes are common at India’s big pilgrimages and religious festivals. In 2008, more than 145 people died when a panicking crowd pushed people over a ravine in north India.

In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 115 people, mostly women and children.