At least 17 people, including a seven-year-old girl, have been killed and 25 injured in a stampede at a Hindu religious festival in north Kolkata, officials said.
The incident happened on Saturday evening at a Durga Puja pandal, a temporary pavilion housing idols of the goddess Durga, in West Bengal.
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said six of the victims had been identified. The injured were taken to hospital, police said.
A police statement attributed the disaster to “heavy crowds of pandal hoppers amid rainfall”. A senior officer at the scene said an announcement caused further commotion after the rain began.
“The crowd waiting outside the pandal was pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede,” the officer told the AFP news agency.
The festival attracts thousands of devotees, with large crowds visiting the temporary pavilions during the celebrations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as “saddening” and offered his condolences to the families of those who died.
“Wishing the injured a speedy recovery. The West Bengal Government is providing all possible help to the affected families,” Mr Modi wrote on X.
His office said the next of kin of each person who died would receive compensation of 200,000 rupees, while those injured would receive 50,000 rupees each.
Interior Minister Amit Shah said the administration was ensuring that all possible medical facilities were available to the injured.
