64 pilgrims die in south India stampede

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At least 64 people died and scores were injured Friday in a stampede at a religious festival in southern India triggered by a vehicle crashing into a crowd, officials said.

The tragedy happened on Friday at around 20:00 local time (1630 GMT) in a remote mountainous area during a pilgrimage to the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala that draws three to four million people each year, according to organisers.

State Home Minister Kodiuyeri Balakrishnan told media that sixty-four bodies had been retrieved from the hilly and densely forested area where pilgrims were crammed onto narrow roads at the end of the winter festival season.

"Relief operations are going on," he said amid suggestions from other officials that the death toll could rise.

Special police commissioner Rajendra Nair said that 100 pilgrims might have died in the accident, while state Education Minister M.A. Baby said the final death toll could climb as high as 90.

The official news agency reported that the rescue effort was being hampered by the remote location, thick forest covering and narrow roads which made the region difficult for the emergency services to access.

Stampedes at public events in India are common as large numbers of people crowd into congested areas. Panic can spread quickly and, with surging crowds and few safety regulations in place, the result is often lethal.

Details were still emerging early Saturday of the cause of the stampede, but initial reports said either a bus or a jeep crashed into the tightly-packed crowd.