63 killed in temple stampede

The death toll in a stampede at a temple in north India rose to 63 today.

Dozens of people were also injured when thousands of people crowded into the compound of a temple in Kunda, a small town 112 miles south east of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state.

Local police official Brij Lal said free clothes and utensils were being distributed at a religious function at the Ram Janki temple, which likely caused the stampede.

The temple is located in a compound that belongs to Kripalu Maharaj, a popular local religious leader.

As people jostled each other, a gate to the compound fell, causing more injuries.

Deadly stampedes are a relatively common occurrence at temples in India, where large crowds – sometimes hundreds of thousands of people – congregate in small areas lacking facilities to control big gatherings.

In 2008, more than 145 people died in a stampede at a remote Hindu temple in the foothills of the Himalayas.