Dhaka- Anisur Rahman, Chief Administrator of Narayanganj District, Bangladesh, has that more than 10 Hindu devotees were killed in a stampede during an annual bathing ritual on Friday.
Rahman said police recovered the bodies of seven women and three men from the crowded pilgrimage site of Langalbandh on the bank of Old Brahmaputra River in Narayanganj district.
He said the mainly Hindu crowds had travelled from around the country, as well as India and Nepal to the site 20 kilometers east of Dhaka to bathe in the river as part of their religious rites.
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Police Officer, Khandaker Uddin, said overcrowding at the main Rajghat bathing quay caused the stampede.
He said the authorities had set up 13 quays along the riverbank to facilitate devotees’ bathing.
“An investigation was launched into the accident, which also left 25 people injured, he said.
Meanwhile, the district administration has announced compensation of 320 dollars to each of the victims’ families to cover cremation costs.
Hindus make up an estimated 12 per cent of the population of Bangladesh, where an 87per cent are Muslims.
The rest are mostly Christians and Buddhists. (dpa/NAN)