Seven people died in the stampede, and several others were injured. Meanwhile, at least seven people died in the fire, and several others were seriously injured, officials reported.
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The stampede may have been triggered by a broken electric wire
The incident in Bihar state occurred near the Ashok Dham temple in Lakisarai district. Thousands of devotees gathered to pray on the third day of Shravan – one of the holiest months in the Hindu calendar – on Monday.
This period, usually lasting from July to August, is dedicated to the worship of the deity Shiva and is marked by fasting, prayers, and colorful festivals throughout India.
Nineteen injured were taken to the state hospital, said civil authority representative Shailendra Kumar. He stated that the causes of the stampede are still under investigation.
According to preliminary data, at about 6:30 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Lithuanian time), an electric wire near the temple broke. This caused panic among the worshippers, who tried to flee fearing an electric shock.
According to S. Kumar, quoted by the news agency Press Trust of India, some barricades could not withstand the crowd and collapsed, causing people to fall on top of each other.
Many hotel guests injured in the fire were pilgrims
In Tarapita city, Birbhum district of West Bengal, a fire broke out on the first floor of a four-story hotel at about 4:30 a.m. local time (2 a.m. Lithuanian time), while most guests were sleeping, reported Press Trust of India.
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Many guests were pilgrims who came to Tarapita to pray at a site with an important temple complex dedicated to Shiva.
Firefighters managed to control the fire. The injured were taken to the hospital, where some were treated for burns, and others for smoke poisoning and suffocation, the report said.
The hotel administration told the agency that the fire may have started in the reception area, when a component of the hotel’s electrical system caught fire. Officials are investigating the incident; the exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
In India, crowd stampedes during religious festivals are quite common, as huge crowds, sometimes numbering in the millions, gather in limited spaces where security measures are lacking.
Last January, during the Maha Kumbh festival, the largest religious gathering in the world, at least 30 people died as tens of thousands of Hindu devotees rushed to bathe in the holy river.
In 2013, pilgrims participating in a Hindu festival at a temple in central Madhya Pradesh caused panic fearing a bridge would collapse. At least 115 people were fatally crushed or drowned in the river below.
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