Stampede kills 36 at Indian railway station

By Christina Munnell

The site of a religious gathering turned chaotic when 36 were killed and more than 30 were injured in a stampede Sunday evening, Indian officials said.

Allahabad, where an estimated 40 million came to take part in a Hindu pilgrimage, experienced terror when a stampede erupted at a railway station, Fox News reported.

Kumbh Mela, or the Pitcher Festival, is part of the 55-day holy festival in which Hindus bathe in the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. Because Sunday was considered one of the holiest days to dip in the river, millions flocked simultaneously, creating chaos, officials said.

Railway Minister P.K. Bansal told CNN officials on Monday that "overcrowding" was responsible for the stampede causing 36 deaths.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "deeply shocked" by the deaths and promised compensation to those injured and to the families of those killed, CNN reported.