7 killed, 19 injured in stampede at temple in India’s Bihar
At least seven people died and 19 were injured when a stampede occurred at a Hindu temple in India’s eastern state of Bihar.
Deadly stampedes are fairly common in large Indian events and religious celebrations because of poor crowd control measures.
The accident took place at the Ashok Dham temple in the Lakhisarai district of Bihar state, where a large number of people had gathered to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.
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The stampede came about when reports started circulating that a power pole had collapsed onto worshipers at the premises of the temple, according to district magistrate Shailendra Kumar, speaking to AFP.
“The situation is now under control,” stated Kumar, who confirmed the toll. About 19 other people were under medical care, he noted.
Samrat Chaudhary, Chief Minister of Bihar, referred to the occurrence as “painful” and provided compensation of 400,000 Indian rupees per deceased individual.
It is one of the latest in a series of deadly stampedes to hit India.
Last November, nine persons died in a crush at a temple in Andhra Pradesh, which is in South India.
A previous stampede that took place at a political rally in Tamil Nadu last year left 36 dead.
One of the biggest crowd disasters to occur in India recently took place in Uttar Pradesh in 2024, when 120 people lost their lives at a religious sermon that was attended by many devotees.
Response from Government
The Bihar State’s Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary condoled the deaths in the tragedy and instructed the officials to provide proper medical attention to the wounded. The government declared a compensation amounting to ₹4 lakh for each deceased person’s family.
The currently established facts are the following:
Place: Ashok Dham Temple, Lakhisarai, Bihar
Date: August 17, 2026
Number of victims: 7 dead
More than 12 injured
The cause: Sudden stampede in a crowd due to rumours about a pole/wire
Additional factor: Huge religious procession and broken barriers
Compensation: ₹4 lakh per each dead person’s family
Investigation: Ongoing
Victims and the injured
According to the information that followed, the seven victims who died were all women. Several more individuals were injured, although the exact number was inconsistent in earlier accounts due to ongoing assessment by the authorities.
The injured victims were taken to the hospitals in Lakhisarai, as emergency response teams and the police attended to the situation.
