DHAKA: Over 90 pilgrims including children were killed and more than 100 injured in a stampede at Ratangarh temple in Madhya Pradesh in India on Sunday morning.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial inquiry to probe the tragedy.

According to reports, the death toll is expected to rise further and may cross 100, reports The Times of India.

Atleast 50 were killed in stampede, while others drowned after jumping off the bridge in panic. The Ratangarh ‘Mata’ temple located about 55km from district headquarters and 405km north of the state capital.

‘Total of 68 bodies have been recovered so far, and the count is on. Some others have died on way to hospital, so the toll might three digits,’ said a senior intelligence officer.

The tragedy was allegedly caused by rumour that the bridge on Sindh River, through which the pilgrims were heading towards temple, was collapsing after a tractor trolley rammed into it and fell into the river.

There were more than 50,000 devotees around the spot.

Eyewitness Manoj Sharma, 28, said that ‘police lathicharge during the panic run worsened the situation, forcing many to jump off the bridge’.

He is a resident of Bhander village in Datia district was along with his friends to visit the temple when the tragedy took place.

BDST: 2005 HRS, OCT 13, 2013
RoR/RIS