Stampede in India kills 20 pilgrims
Some 20 pilgrims have been confirmed dead after a stampede, during India's Maha Pushkaralu festival
Some 20 pilgrims have lost their lives in a stampede during a religious festival in India
At least 20 pilgrims have died in a stampede on the banks of a holy river in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, according to the BBC.
The Hindu pilgrims had gathered to take a dip in the Godavari river at the start of the Maha Pushkaralu festival and the stampede occurred at 08:00am in the Rajahmundry district. The particular festival takes place every 144 years, with the next one being scheduled for 2159.
Nearly 24 million pilgrims are expected to take part in the 12-day festival and pilgrims believe that taking a bath in the river will rid them of their sins.
"The incident happened as the first set of worshippers were coming out of the river after taking a dip and then got in the way of others who wanted to be in the water at an auspicious time," AFP news agency quoted senior police official A Srinivasan Rao as saying.
Deadly stampedes during religious gatherings are fairly common in India and in October 2013, 115 died during a stampeded at a Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Most were crushed after panic broke out on a bridge near the Ratangarh temple, while others drowned when they jumped from the bridge into river waters below.
