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| At least 36 people have been killed as stampede broke out in the Indian town that was holding The Hindu religious festival Maha Kumbh [PHOTO: Special Arrangement] |
Allahabad: India's Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal says a probe has been ordered into what led to a stampede at a train station in northern India that killed at least 36 people.
The stampede occurred as thousands of people flooded the
train station in Allahabad in view of religious festival called Kumbh Mela.
Twenty-seven of the dead were women, mostly elderly and
poor. An eight-year-old girl was also crushed to death. Indian news channel reported
incident caused when people rushed up steps leading to one of the platforms.
However, official gave the contradictory version of what caused
to crush. A panic in the crowd reportedly broke out on a foobridge linking rail
platforms.
Police have denied allegations they may have contributed to
the stampede by seeking to control the crowd with batons.
Notably, the incident came as an estimated 30 million
devotees were taking part in the Kumbh
Mela, or Pitcher Festival, in which devotees bathe in waters at the
confluence of three rivers -- the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati.