32 dead in Dussehra stampede in Bihar

Around 20 victims were women, five to six were children, says Patna district magistrate Kumar Verma

PATNA: A stampede during Dussehra celebrations in eastern India, left 32 people dead on Friday, an official said.

Thousands of people were starting to leave the grounds after celebrating the festival in the city of Patna when panic erupted, possibly caused by rumours of an electrical fire.

"We have information that 32 people including women and children died due to a stampede," Gupteshwar Pandey, additional director general of police for Bihar state, told AFP.

"Most of the victims were women… five to six were children and about 20 women," Patna district magistrate Kumar Verma said.

The crowds were exiting the Gandhi Maidan venue, when people rushed and fell.

"Someone screamed that a burning electrical wire (had) set fire on the ground and, hearing that, almost everyone jumped on each other to get out of the venue as quickly as possible," a witness told the NDTV network. "Because of that they all got trampled on and run over.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2014.