Authorities say at least 42 women and 30 children have died

Oct 14, 2013 03:46 GMT  ·  By
91 people have died after rumors of bridge collapsing causes panic near Indian temple
   91 people have died after rumors of bridge collapsing causes panic near Indian temple

At least 91 people have died and several dozen have been injured in a stampede at an Indian temple during the holy festival of Dussehra, the BBC reports. Over 150,000 people had gathered for the celebrations.

The tragedy occurred on a bridge outside at the Ratangarh temple, near the town of Datia, which is situated north of the Madhya Pradesh state capital, Bhopal.

A couple of thousands of those people were on the bridge at the time.

Authorities say for the BBC that the stampede may have been caused by a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse, though another theory has it that panic broke when police started using batons to control the crowd.

Eyewitnesses say that many tried to flee from the bridge. Those who were not run over died when they jumped off the bridge, thinking they could save themselves this way.

Initial reports say that, of the 91 dead, at least 42 were women and 30 were children. Of the injured, 10 are still in critical condition.

Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Narottam Mishra has issued a statement to say that they’ve launched an official investigation into the causes of the tragedy. He doesn’t rule out the possibility that the stampede was caused by rumors of the bridge’s imminent collapse.