10 killed in stampede at goat sacrifice festival

Posted 10/17/2010

At least 10 people died in a stampede at a temple in the eastern Indian state of Bihar where tens of thousands of devotees had gathered for an annual Hindu festival, police said.

Another 15 people were injured in the stampede, which occurred late Saturday (local time) outside a temple in Banka district, some 200 kilometres from Patna, the state capital, senior police officer P K Thakur said.

The victims had gathered to witness the traditional sacrifice of goats, Mr Thakur said, adding 40,000 devotees had thronged the temple at the time of the stampede.

Four women were among those killed.

The state government offered compensation to relatives of those killed at the temple, where celebrations were marking Durga Puga, one of the major Hindu festivals.

Stampedes at public events in India are common as large numbers of people crowd into congested areas. Panic can spread quickly and, with few safety regulations in place, the result is often lethal.

In March, police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh blamed lax safety for the deaths of 63 people - all of them women and children - in a stampede outside a Hindu temple.

From: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/17/3040526.htm