At least seven people have been killed in a stampede inside a temple in Bihar, India. The death toll is expected to rise. Several others were injured in the incident. They had gone to offer prayers at the Ashokdham Shiva temple in Lakhisarai, Bihar, on Monday. The accident occurred around 7 am.
According to the Anandabazar Online report, news spread that there were electric wires lying in the temple premises. The pilgrims started running in a hurry, fearing electrocution. They tried to move forward by stepping over each other in the huge crowd. A stampede began. At one stage, seven people died after being trampled in the crowd.
The injured have been taken to Lakhisarai Hospital. Lakhisarai District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar told news agency ANI that between 6:30 am and 6:45 am, two trains carrying pilgrims reached the station near the temple, leading to increased crowd in the temple premises.
The District Magistrate also said that crowd control measures were in place. But in the rush, one side of the barricade broke. Pilgrims fell on top of each other. Although several people were rescued quickly, it was not possible to bring everyone out due to the pressure of the crowd.
