Disaster During Festival at Hindu Temple in India

Seven people died and 35 others were injured to varying degrees in a stampede that occurred during a festival at a Hindu temple in Bihar, eastern India, on Sunday evening, according to Indian television channel NDTV. The channel reported that a fight broke out among flower sellers at the entrance of the temple, where the annual celebration takes place, prompting teams of volunteers from the National Cadet Corps, supported by the armed forces, to intervene to disperse the fight using bamboo police batons with metal tips. This led to panic and a stampede among the worshippers. Meanwhile, relatives of the victims have accused local authorities of poorly organizing the event, while the local administration has denied any mistakes or negligence, stating that the security response to the incident was organized according to current regulations.