Worshippers Killed in Indian Temple Stampede

At least 100 worshipers were killed and more than 150 injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in western India yesterday.

More than 25,000 people had gathered at the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur, in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, yesterday.

It is believed many of the victims of the disaster, which happened in the hilltop Mehrangarh Fort complex, were women.

Television pictures showed bloodied bodies being carried to ambulances, and a number of others laid out on the temple's floors.

It remains unclear what caused the stampede. Gulab Chand Kataria, the Rajasthan home minister, told the Times Now television channel that a long line of devotees had been waiting to climb up a hill when one fell from a rocky outcrop, causing a panic.

The Press Trust of India reported that the crush had been caused by the collapse of a wall.One witness, who gave his name as Santa, told Reuters that the disaster happened as authorities tried to stop pilgrims from entering the temple in order to allow access for a VIP.

However, police gave a different account. "The stampede started after a barricade near the temple broke and … people started running down a steep slope and fell on each other," Rajiv Dasoth, an inspector general, said.Stampedes at temples have happened during Indian religious festivals many times before. Thousands of people gather to pray and safety precautions are minimal.

Last month, a stampede outside a mountaintop Hindu temple in northern India killed at least 145 people when rumors of a landslide spread panic among pilgrims.

Crowds ran down a narrow mountain trail from the Naina Devi temple, in Himachal Pradesh state, only to meet thousands of people walking up.The worst disaster happened in January 2005, when about 265 pilgrims were killed in a stampede near a temple in the western state of Maharashtra.