Six worshippers killed in stampede at Indian temple

At least six people have died and several injured in an incident police suspect was triggered by a falling electricity pole that alarmed a crowd of worshippers at a temple in India's eastern state of Bihar.

Authorities were checking the cause of the incident among devotees observing a Hindu holy month at the Ashok Dham temple in the district of Lakhisarai.

"It is being said that an electric pole fell there and people were electrocuted, which led to a stampede-like situation," Shivam Kumar, a senior police officer, told news agency ANI on Monday.

At least five people were injured in the incident, a senior official told Reuters.

Television footahe showed images of relatives thronging hospitals as rescuers brought in people on stretchers.

India's history of crowd accidents includes 30 deaths at the giant Maha Kumbh festival in 2025, when tens of millions of people gathered to bathe in sacred waters.