Indian temple stampede claims 224 lives
Afp, Jodhpur
The death toll from a deadly stampede at a Hindu temple in the
northern Indian state of Rajasthan has risen to 224, police said late
Wednesday.
The toll was higher than an estimate given earlier in the day, and
Inspector-General Rajiv Dasot said police had received more re****ts from
bereaved families.
"People and relatives are now re****ting back with the deaths of
relatives and we now know 224 is the number of those killed," Dasot said
in
Jodhpur, where the stampede took place early Tuesday.
The disaster occurred when more than 25,000 wor****ppers rushed to
reach the hill-top shrine to Hindu warrior goddess Chamunda in Jodhpur's
15th-century Chamunda Devi temple.
At least 35 more people were hospitalised after the disaster, which
came at the start of Navaratri, a nine-day Hindu festival which is one of
the most im****tant in the Hindu calendar and when crowds are particularly
large.
The temple reopened to devotees on Wednesday, but not more than 200
Hindus were seen at the complex.
"Jodhpur is in mourning and people are attending funerals of their
loved ones," said Reeta Inani," a regular visitor to the temple which is
built inside the Mehrangarh Fort, a major tourism spot in Jodhpur.
The stampede came at the start of Navaratri, a nine-day Hindu
festival
which is one of the most im****tant in the Hindu calendar and when crowds
are
particularly large.
Officials said the stampede appeared to have started when a wall
along
the narrow path leading up to the temple collapsed, killing several people
and sparking widespread panic.
People were trampled and suffocated to death.
"The stampede began when people lost their footing and set off a
chain
reaction," Thanvi said.
Officials said many of the injured were seriously hurt. After the
stampede, devotees carried limp bodies to police vehicles, while others
desperately tried to resuscitate victims.
Temple stampedes are common during religious festivities in India,
where crowd control is often rudimentary or non-existent.
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