Sixteen Hindu pilgrims, 14 of them women, were killed and another 50 injured in a stampede during a religious ceremony on the banks of the River Ganges in northern India, an official said today.
The stampede at Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh state was triggered when some of the pilgrims tripped and fell while those behind continued to push forward, government spokesman Amit Chandola said.
Thousands of people had converged on the river banks for the prayer ceremony in
the temple-filled town in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Ganges enters the sprawling plains of northern India.
Haridwar is about 500km south-west of the state capital of Lucknow.
Mr Chandola said police had recovered 16 bodies from the site, and about 50 injured people were taken to a nearby hospital.
Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit Haridwar every year to bathe in the Ganges, which they believe will cleanse them of sins and free them from the cycle of life and rebirth.
Stampedes often occur at Hindu pilgrimage sites, where authorities are unable to cope with the rush of devotees.
PA