PATNA, India – At least 32 people were killed Friday in a stampede in eastern India triggered by rumors that an electrical wire had fallen on people during a religious festival, an official said.
State administrator Aamir Subhani said the stampede occurred in Patna, the capital of Bihar state, as thousands of people were returning home after attending the major Hindu festival, Dussehra.
The festival celebrates the defeat of the demon Ravana at the hands of Lord Rama, marking the triumph of good over evil.
Twenty-seven of the dead were women, said Manoj Kumar, a district official in Patna.
Kumar said 15 people who were injured in the stampede had been hospitalized.
Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.
In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 110 people, mostly women and children.
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