17 dead, 25 injured in stampede at religious gathering

At least 17 people were killed and two dozen more injured Saturday in eastern India after a stampede that was likely caused by sudden rainfall during a Hindu religious gathering, officials said.
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Suvendhu Adhikari told reporters the fatalities included a seven-year-old girl, adding that 25 others 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,” Adhikari said.
A senior police official at the scene told AFP an announcement caused “commotion” after it started raining at night and the “crowd waiting outside the pandal (pavilion) was pushing, pulling and rushin...