2nd LD Writerhru: 2 killed, 20 injured in stampede in eastern India

At least two women were killed and 20 people sustained injuries in a stampede at a religious festival in the eastern Indian state of Odisha Saturday, a senior police official said.

"The stampede broke out when tens of thousands of devotees were pulling a chariot of deities in the state's holy town of Puri on the occasion of Rathyatra, a Hindu festival," he said, on condition of anonymity.

While two women died on the spot, those injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals where the condition of some are said to be serious, the official said.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, he added.

The Hindu festival of Rathyatra is being celebrated across India, in which devotees pull chariot of deities to mark the occasion.

Stampedes are common in India, mostly because of unruly crowd and lack of arrangements to control gatherings.

Barely a week back, nearly 30 pilgrims were killed at another Hindu festival on the banks of Godavari river in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Endi