▲ Durga Puja Hindu festival
A crush at a Hindu religious gathering in eastern India on the afternoon of the 17th (local time) left at least 17 people dead, AFP and Reuters reported.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of West Bengal, told the media that the stampede near the venue for the Hindu festival of Durga Puja resulted in at least 17 deaths, including a 7-year-old child, and left 25 others injured.
Authorities suspect that sudden rainfall at the religious gathering caused the crowd to surge, triggering the deadly crush.
Police are currently investigating the exact circumstances of the accident.
During Durga Puja, the largest Hindu festival in West Bengal, massive crowds of devotees are known to flock to "pandals," temporary structures housing idols of the goddess Durga.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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