NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 3, 2008: NEW DELHI Nearly 150 pilgrims, many of them children, were trampled to death at a Hindu temple in northern India on Sunday, after rumors of a landslide set off a stampede, local officials said. Thousands of pilgrims had traveled to Naina Devi, a hilltop temple in the state of Himachal Pradesh, for a festival celebrating a Hindu goddess. A long line of pilgrims had formed along a stepped path leading up to the temple in the morning when heavy rains began. Many then tried to take shelter in a covered area. At that point, according to witnesses, rumors that boulders were beginning to roll down the hillside led to panic in the crowd, and people began running downhill into those gathered to avoid the rain.
Because so many pilgrims were gathered at the shelter, the way up and down was blocked, said Suresh Kumar, a spokesman in the police control room at the temple. When pilgrims started pushing down and the way was very crowded, the stampede took place. Metal guardrails meant to protect visitors from steep drops were knocked down by the crowds, sending some people tumbling down the hillside.
B. Purusharth, the deputy commissioner in Ropar, a city in Punjab State where many of the pilgrims were from, said at least 145 people died and 27 were injured. Officials estimated that 50 of the dead were children.
As wealth grows among Indias middle class, there has been a rise in domestic travel, including trips to temples and other religious sites. As a result, overcrowding, particularly during religious festivals, is becoming more common.