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BHUBANESHWAR, India: At least six people were killed and 20 injured on Friday in a stampede at a popular Hindu religious festival in eastern India, officials said.
The accident occurred in Orissa state's Puri district, 65 kilometres (40 miles) from state capital Bhubaneshwar, during the annual Jagannath Chariot Procession, Pramod Mohanty, a senior medical officer, told AFP.
Four of the 20 injured were in a critical state, he added.
Authorities estimate that about one million people were in Puri on Friday, the opening day of the nine-day-long festival during which the devout worship Hindu deities.
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a probe into the incident.
Asit Panigrahi, Puri's superintendent of police, said security arrangements at the festival had been revamped with additional reinforcements sent in for better crowd management.
- AFP/so
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