Children trampled as 145 die in Hindu temple stampede

Children trampled as 145 die in Hindu temple stampede

By Andrew Buncombe in Delhi
Monday, 4 August 2008

A religious pilgrimage turned into a disaster when at least 145 people – most of them women and children – were killed as a crowd of thousands stampeded at a Hindu shrine in northern India.


Police said that a crowd of up to 10,000 pilgrims may have panicked yesterday morning after heavy rains caused loose stones to tumble down a hillside as they made their way up a narrow two-and-a-half mile path to a hill-top temple in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.

As the stones began to move, people started running down the mountain, breaking iron railings and trampling people underfoot as they made their way to safety. At the same time, thousands of people were still trying to make their way uphill to the temple. The scene of the carnage was littered with discarded sandals, flowers and torn clothes last night.

"We have confirmation now that 145 people have been killed," Daljit Singh Manhas, a senior police officer, told Reuters. "We found eight to 10 stones which had fallen off and probably scared the people, causing the stampede." A total 37 people were injured and taken to hospital, the police said.
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