At least 17 people have been killed and many more injured in a crush at an event in the Indian city of Kolkata to mark the Hindu festival of Durga Puja, officials say. The incident occurred during sudden rainfall, which witnesses say prompted a surge of people to try to seek shelter. West Bengal’s Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari said a seven-year-old girl was among the dead, and that 25 people were being treated for injuries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a “tragic” incident and said the regional government was providing help to affected families.
Six of the dead have been identified, Adhikari said. A senior police official told the AFP news agency that an announcement caused “commotion” after it started raining and the crowd started “pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede.”. Deadly crowd incidents, including during religious festivals, are not uncommon in India due to poor management and lack of adequate safety precautions. Two years ago, 121 people were killed in Uttar Pradesh during a Hindu religious gathering.
