At least 17 dead in crush at Hindu festival in Kolkata

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 17 Oct, 22:32 · Archive

At least 17 people have been killed in a crush at a Durga Puja festival event in Kolkata, India, during sudden rainfall.

At least 17 people have been killed and many more injured in a crush at an event in Kolkata to mark the Hindu festival of Durga Puja. The incident occurred during sudden rainfall, which witnesses say prompted a surge of people to try to seek shelter. A senior police official said an announcement caused 'commotion' after it started raining, with the crowd 'pushing, pulling and rushing forward and fell on the ground, leading to the stampede'.

West Bengal's Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari said a seven-year-old girl was among the dead, and that 25 people were being treated for injuries. Six of the dead have been identified. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as 'tragic' and said the regional government was providing help to affected families.

Deadly crowd incidents during religious festivals are not uncommon in India due to poor management and lack of adequate safety precautions.

How it is being reported

• Crush at religious festival kills at least 17 and injures dozens in IndiaAt least 17 people have died and dozens more are injured after a crush at a religious festival in India, local media reports.Sky News · 17 Oct, 20:37
• At least 17 dead in crush at Hindu festival event in IndiaMany more have been injured at an event in the Indian city of Kolkata to mark a Hindu festival.BBC World · 17 Oct, 20:19

In this story: Kolkata · India · Narendra Modi · Suvendhu Adhikari · West Bengal

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem