Deadly stampede at Indian festival

Official says 32 people have died during Dussehra celebrations in the eastern city of Patna. At least 32 people have been killed and 15 others injured in a stampede during an important Hindu festival in India. NDTV, a private television channel, said the accident happened near the Gandhi Maidan (park) in the city of Patna in the eastern Bihar state and that the fatalities were mostly women and children. "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. "Dozens of people were seriously injured," he said. Reports said rumours of a live electricy cable falling on people triggered the stampede with people rushing towards the exit during the Dussehra celebrations on Friday. Dussehra - a festival during which effigies of the demon king Ravana are burnt to mark the victory of good over evil - draws huge crowds at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, the capital city of the state of Bihar. Officials say some people fainted during the stampede and were rushed to the Patna Medical College Hospital, which is just two kilometres from the site of the incident, NDTV reported. "People have dispersed from the spot now. A few dozen people could be injured. Senior officials are at the hospital including the Health Secretary and treatment is being ensured," said Amir Subhani, Home Secretary, Bihar. Stampedes often occur during religious festivals in India because of huge crowds in confined places.