19 dead, 25 hurt in stampede at religious gathering in India
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Police outside the emergency department of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital as relatives of victims of the Durga Puja Festival stampede mourned on Oct 17.
PHOTO: AFP
KOLKATA, India – At least 19 people were killed and two dozen more injured on Oct 17 in eastern India after a stampede that occurred during sudden rainfall at a Hindu religious gathering, officials and the Indian media said.
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said the fatalities included a seven-year-old girl, and 25 other people were injured outside a pavilion “in a stampede” at the Hindu festival of Durga Puja in the city of Kolkata.
“Six bodies have so far been identified,” he said.
A senior police official at the scene said an announcement caused “commotion” after it started raining at night and the “crowd waiting outside was pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede”.
Medics were seen taking injured people on stretchers, including a police officer, to a local hospital. Several relatives of victims cried as they mourned the loss of loved ones.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the tragedy in a short statement on Facebook. “The stampede in Kolkata is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery,” he wrote. “The West Bengal Government is providing all possible help to the affected families.”
Adhikari originally announced 17 fatalities. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported the death toll rose by two to 19, quoting Adhikari in a later statement.
Nine dead bodies have been released to their families, the PTI reported. It said police have taken the festival’s closed-circuit footage and would initiate action against those seen on CCTV who appeared to fail in their responsibility for crowd control.
Videos shot before the stampede appeared to show large crowds of people waiting to enter the pavilion, in an area with narrow lanes that allow only a few people to walk in at a time, according to the Indian Express.
Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian mass events, such as religious festivals, due to poor management and safety lapses.
In 2025, a stampede at India’s Kumbh Mela religious fair killed 30 people and injured several others, and 11 fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru during celebrations for the local cricket team’s first Indian Premier League title.
The same year, 36 people were killed after a stampede broke out at a rally of an actor-turned-politician in southern Tamil Nadu state. In 2024, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering. AFP