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Stampede at Hindu Festival Kills 12 in Northern India

by VOA News

   Police in northern India say a stampede early Saturday outside a Hindu
   temple has killed at least 12 people.

   Authorities say the incident happened as hundreds of devotees of Indian
   guru Jai Gurudev gathered in Varanasi, a Hindu holy town in Uttar
   Pradesh state, a place known for its temples.

   "We can confirm that 12 people have been killed and five others are
   seriously injured. We are monitoring the situation," Daljeet Chaudhary,
   the additional director general of police, told reporters in state
   capital Lucknow.

   The people injured were taken to local hospitals while authorities
   rushed to the site to assess the situation.

   Stampedes at religious festivals are common in India where massive
   crowds often overwhelm security and control measures.

   Last July, 27 people died in southern India as tens of thousands of
   pilgrims rushed to bathe in the Godavari river during a festival.

   In October 2013, more than 110 people, mostly women and children, were
   killed in a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India.