DUBAI: At least 6 worshipers were killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in India's Gujarat state in the Western part of the country, police said on Monday. The incident occurred late Sunday near the Bhavnath temple in Junagadh district, where thousands had gathered on the eve of the Shivaratri festival, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The victims included three women and two children, the district's Police Chief Dipankar Trivedi said. The trouble apparently began when a bus broke down on a bridge leading to the temple, blocking it. “But the heavy flow of devotees continued from one end, sparking commotion,” Trivedi said. “In the chaos, a number of people fell down from the bridge” to the ground below, he said, including some of the casualties. Deadly stampedes are not unusual at India's religious shrines, which are often located at the end of narrow, steep paths and have poor arrangements for crowd control. At least 12 people were killed in a stampede at a Muslim shrine in central India last month. Overcrowding at temples across the country has become a major concern for local governments, who are currently looking at new regulations for gatherings at temples in order to reduce such incidents from occurring in the future. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Kn3kz Tags: Bhavnath, India, Stampede, Temple Section: Latest News, Religion, South Asia
