Bihar temple stampede: 60-year-old dead, 8 injured

Patna, Aug 12: At least one person was killed and eight injured in a stampede that broke out near a temple in Lakhisarai district of Bihar this morning, said reports.

People turned up in large number to pray at the Ashok Dham temple today as it the last Monday of the "Shravan" month which is considered auspicious.

Amid extreme heat and jostling, a 60-year-old person is said to have collapsed, reports said. A police officer said that the individual may have suffered a heart attack.

"At one point of time, the crowd grew restless and many people began to jostle, leading to a stampede-like situation. The situation was, however, soon brought under control," PTI report quoted police officer of the area Sanjay Kumar Singh as saying.

The people began coming to the temple on Sunday night itself and the queue is said to become almost six kilometer long. Reports quoted official as saying that it was so long that it was taking almost eight kilometers for devotees to reach the temple.

"A 60-year-old unidentified person collapsed on the spot. There were no injury marks on his body, which has been brought to the Sadar hospital for post-mortem. He appears to have suffered a massive heart attack," the police officer said.

"Those said to be injured had actually fallen sick, on account of extreme humidity and suffocation caused by overcrowded surroundings. They were being treated at the hospital and their condition is out of danger," he said.