Pilgrims killed in India stampede

Map locator

At least 45 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede at a religious festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala, officials say.

Scores more have been injured in the crush, which was reportedly triggered by a road accident.

The pilgrims were returning from the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala, which is in a remote, mountainous, densely-forested area.

State officials said the death toll could rise.

It was not immediately clear how the stampede had begun.

The Indian PTI news agency said a jeep carrying pilgrims had driven into a crowd returning from the shrine, starting a panic.

However, the Times of India reported that the incident happened when the jeep broke down and overturned as pilgrims tried to move it.

It crushed a number of people and caused others to stumble, which then triggered the stampede, the report said.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *