At least 17 people were killed and 25 injured in a stampede at a Hindu religious festival in eastern India, officials said.
According to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, the youngest victim was a 7-year-old girl. The incident occurred on Saturday in the northern part of Kolkata.
"Six bodies have been identified so far," Adhikari told reporters.
Police said the injured were taken to hospital from a Durga Puja pandal — a temporary structure housing a statue of the goddess Durga during the festival, which draws thousands of devotees.
In a statement, police said the stampede occurred in the evening because of "a huge influx of people toward the pandals while it was raining."
A senior police officer at the scene told AFP that an announcement triggered "chaos" when it began to rain, causing "the crowd waiting outside the pandal to push, pull and surge forward before falling to the ground, leading to a stampede."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the incident as "heartbreaking."
"My condolences go out to the families of the victims. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The West Bengal state government is providing all possible assistance to the affected families," Modi wrote on X.
The Prime Minister's Office announced compensation of 200,000 rupees ($2,106) for the family of each person killed and 50,000 rupees ($527) for each injured person.
Home Minister Amit Shah said "authorities are ensuring that all medical facilities are made available to the injured."
Deadly crowd crushes are common at crowded events in India, such as religious festivals, largely due to poor crowd management and safety lapses.
Last year, a stampede at India's Kumbh Mela religious fair killed 30 people and injured many others. In Bengaluru, 11 fans were crushed to death during celebrations of the local cricket team's first Indian Premier League title.
In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, 36 people died in a stampede at a campaign rally for a famous actor-turned-politician.
In 2024, 121 people were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh at a Hindu religious gathering.
