At least 17 killed in stampede at religious gathering in India

A “stampede” during a Hindu religious festival in eastern India has killed at least 17 people and injured 25, officials said. A seven-year-old girl was among the fatalities in Saturday’s disaster in north Kolkata in West Bengal, the state’s Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told reporters. Police said the injured were taken to hospital from a Durga Puja pandal, a temporary pavilion housing idols of the goddess Durga at a festival which attracts thousands of ⁠⁠⁠⁠devotees. A police statement said the stampede happened in the evening due to “heavy crowds of pandal hoppers amid rainfall”.