Temple stampede, hotel fire kill 14 in India

TWIN DISASTERS: Authorities are investigating the cause of the stampede in Bihar that killed seven people and the fire at a hotel in West Bengal that also killed seven

A deadly stampede yesterday broke out at a Hindu temple in eastern India’s Bihar state, hours after a fire swept through a hotel housing pilgrims in West Bengal state.

Seven people were killed and more than a dozen injured in the stampede, while the blaze left at least seven people dead and several others critically injured, police said.

The incident in Bihar occurred near Ashok Dham Temple in Lakhisarai District, as thousands of devotees gathered to offer prayers on the third Monday of Shravan.

Seven devotees were killed and over a dozen injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in eastern India’s Bihar state

Photo: AP

The period, which usually falls between July and August, is dedicated to the worship of Hindu god Lord Shiva and is marked by fasting, prayers and colorful monsoon festivals across the nation.

More than a dozen people were taken to a government hospital for treatment, the Press Trust of India news agency quoted civil official Shailendra Kumar as saying.

The cause of the stampede was still being investigated, he added.

An electric wire snapped outside the temple premises at about 6:30am, sparking panic as devotees rushed to escape what they feared was a risk of electrocution, preliminary reports said.

A section of the barricades collapsed under the weight of the surging crowd, leading to a crush in which people fell over one another, Kumar said.

In Tarapith, a temple town in West Bengal’s Birbhum District, a fire broke out at about 4:30am on the ground floor of a four-story hotel while most guests were asleep, the Press Trust of India reported.

Many of the guests were pilgrims visiting Tarapith to offer prayers where a major temple complex also includes a shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. Firefighters brought the blaze under control and the injured were taken to a hospital where some were being treated for burn injuries while others suffered from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation, the report said.

Hotel management told the news agency that the blaze might have originated near the reception area after an electrical component in the hotel’s power supply system caught fire. Authorities are investigating the incident and have not yet established the exact cause.

Crowd crushes are relatively common in India during religious festivals, as large crowds, sometimes in the millions, gather in confined areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

In January last year, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the Maha Kumbh Festival, the world’s largest religious gathering.

In 2013, pilgrims attending a Hindu festival at a temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh panicked amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 people were crushed to death or drowned in the river below.