PATNA, India (AP) — A lethal stampede broke out at a Hindu temple in jap India’s Bihar state Monday, hours after a hearth swept by a lodge housing pilgrims in West Bengal state.
Seven individuals had been killed and greater than a dozen injured within the stampede, whereas the blaze left at the least seven individuals useless and a number of other others critically injured, police mentioned.
Stampede might have been attributable to snapped wire
The incident in Bihar occurred close to Ashok Dham Temple in Lakhisarai district, as 1000’s of devotees gathered to supply prayers on the third Monday of Shravan, one of many holiest months within the Hindu calendar. The interval, which normally falls between July and August, is devoted to the worship of Hindu god Lord Shiva and is marked by fasting, prayers and colourful monsoon festivals throughout India.
Greater than a dozen individuals had been taken to a authorities hospital for therapy, mentioned Shailendra Kumar, a civil official. Kumar mentioned the reason for the stampede was nonetheless being investigated.
In accordance with preliminary reviews, an electrical wire snapped outdoors the temple premises round 6:30 a.m., sparking panic as devotees rushed to flee what they feared was a threat of electrocution.
A bit of the barricades collapsed beneath the burden of the surging crowd, resulting in a crush during which individuals fell over each other, mentioned Kumar, in response to the Press Belief of India information company.
Many company at lodge that caught fireplace had been pilgrims
In Tarapith, a temple city in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, a hearth broke out round 4:30 a.m. on the bottom ground of a four-story lodge whereas most company had been asleep, the Press Belief of India reported.
Most of the company had been pilgrims visiting Tarapith to supply prayers the place a significant temple complicated additionally features a shrine devoted to Lord Shiva. Firefighters introduced the blaze beneath management and the injured had been taken to a hospital the place some had been being handled for burn accidents whereas others suffered from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation, the report mentioned.
Resort administration informed the information company that the blaze might have originated close to the reception space after {an electrical} part within the lodge’s energy provide system caught fireplace. Authorities are investigating the incident and haven’t but established the precise trigger.
Crowd crushes are relatively common in India throughout non secular festivals, as massive crowds, generally within the hundreds of thousands, collect in confined areas with few security or crowd management measures. Final 12 months in January, at the least 30 individuals had been killed as tens of 1000’s of Hindus rushed to wash in a sacred river through the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest non secular gathering.
In 2013, pilgrims attending a Hindu competition at a temple within the central state of Madhya Pradesh panicked amid fears {that a} bridge would collapse. At the very least 115 individuals had been crushed to loss of life or drowned within the river beneath.
