2nd LD Writethru: 14 killed in S. Indian stampede
Xinhua, July 14, 2015 Adjust font size:
At least 14 people were killed and several others injured in a stampede at a religious festival in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a senior police official said.
"The incident took place in the state's Rajahmundry district at Pushkaram, a festival which is held once every 12 years to celebrate rivers. While 14 people were trampled to death on the spot, those injured have been admitted to a local hospital," he said, on condition of anonymity.
The death toll may go up later in the day as the condition of some are said to be serious, the official said, adding that senior officials have rushed to the spot.
Local TV channel reported that the stampede happened when some women slipped and fell while a large number of pilgrims were rushing towards the banks of the Godavari river to take a bath.
A probe has been ordered into the incident, he said.
Some 39 pilgrims were killed when the religious festival was last held by the Godavari river at Nashik in the western Indian state of Maharashtra in 2003. Endi