Six killed in a religous procession stampede in eastern India

by Sanjay Jha | July 4, 2008 at 03:21 am

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Thousands of Hindus participate in this religious procession but arrangement are always very weak. Today is the opening day of the procession and millions of Hindu devotees would particiapte. But stampede would dampen people's spirit.

At least six people were killed and 20 injured Friday in a stampede at a popular Hindu religious festival in eastern India, officials said. The accident occurred in Orissa state's Puri district, 65 kilometres (40 miles) from state capital Bhubaneshwar, during the annual Jagannath Chariot Procession, Pramod Mohanty, a senior medical officer, told AFP.

"The dead include three men and three women," Mohanty said.

Four of the 20 injured were in a critical state, he added.

Authorities estimate that about one million people were in Puri on Friday, the opening day of the week-long festival during which the devout worship the Hindu god Krishna and his siblings.