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Six killed, 20 injured in stampede in E. India

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-05 14:25

BHUBANESHWAR, India - At least six people were killed and 20 injured Friday in a stampede at a popular Hindu religious festival in eastern India, officials said.

Indian people try to touch the rope of a chariot of Lord Jagannath uring the Ratha-Yatra in Kolkata. At least six people were killed and 20 injured in a stampede at a popular Hindu religious festival in eastern India, officials said. [Agencies]

The accident occurred in Orissa state's Puri district, 65 kilomteres (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 nine-day-long festival during which the devout worship Hindu deities.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a probe into the incident.

Asit Panigrahi, Puri's superintendent of police, said security arrangements at the festival had been revamped with additional reinforcements sent in for better crowd management.