Indian temple stampede claims 224 lives

The death toll from a deadly stampede at a Hindu temple in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan has risen to 224, police said late Wednesday.
The toll was higher than an estimate given earlier in the day, and Inspector-General Rajiv Dasot said police had received more reports from bereaved families.
"People and relatives are now reporting back with the deaths of relatives and we now know 224 is the number of those killed," Dasot said in Jodhpur, where the stampede took place early Tuesday.
The disaster occurred when more than 25,000 worshippers rushed to reach the hill-top shrine to Hindu warrior goddess Chamunda in Jodhpur's 15th-century Chamunda Devi temple.
At least 35 more people were hospitalised after the disaster, which came at the start of Navaratri, a nine-day Hindu festival which is one of the most important in the Hindu calendar and when crowds are particularly large.
The temple reopened to devotees on Wednesday, but not more than 200 Hindus were seen at the complex.
"Jodhpur is in mourning and people are attending funerals of their loved ones," said Reeta Inani," a regular visitor to the temple which is built inside the Mehrangarh Fort, a major tourism spot in Jodhpur.
The stampede came at the start of Navaratri, a nine-day Hindu festival which is one of the most important in the Hindu calendar and when crowds are particularly large.
Officials said the stampede appeared to have started when a wall along the narrow path leading up to the temple collapsed, killing several people and sparking widespread panic.
People were trampled and suffocated to death.
"The stampede began when people lost their footing and set off a chain reaction," Thanvi said.
Officials said many of the injured were seriously hurt. After the stampede, devotees carried limp bodies to police vehicles, while others desperately tried to resuscitate victims.
Temple stampedes are common during religious festivities in India, where crowd control is often rudimentary or non-existent.