200 feared dead in Maharashtra stampede

NDTV.com: "Over 200 people are feared dead in a stampede near Satara in Maharashtra. The stampede took place 12 kilometres from Wai during a religious procession. Thousands of devotees were taking part in the Mandhara temple yatra, an annual religious gathering that is organised around a temple on a hillock.

More than 2 lakh pilgrims had begun a march up to the Mandhara Devi temple in the hills near the town of Wai in Satara district. The narrow entrance of the temple had already created a rush. It appears that around 11 am (IST) at the most auspicious hour, there was the greatest rush to get in. To escape it the crowds rushed out of the temple and knocked over electricity poles. The poles fell injuring pilgrims and triggering a bigger stampede.

The falling poles also set fire to shops near the temple entrance. Some of the gas cylinders inside the shops exploded and more people were killed and injured. A mass of almost 450 buses parked around the temple also made access difficult. Many of the injured and dead were brought down the hill to the government hospital in Wai."