4 Mar 2010

Scores killed in stampede at Indian temple

10:56 pm on 4 March 2010

At least 60 people have died in a stampede after the gate of a Hindu temple collapsed in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to police.

Another 25 devotees were injured at the temple in Pratapgarh district, 650km south-east of Delhi.

Devotees had gathered for a ritual feast on Thursday, police told the BBC.

It is unclear what caused the gate to collapse. Hundreds of people have been killed in stampedes at crowded Indian temples in recent years.

In 2008, nearly 300 people were killed in stampedes and scores injured in two different Hindu temples in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh states.

Thursday's disaster happened at a popular Ram Janaki temple owned by a Hindu holy man, Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj.