12:55pm UK, Tuesday September 30, 2008

Alex Crawford, India correspondent, in New Delhi

At least 168 people have died in a temple stampede in India, according to local government officials.

Police officer carries a stampede victim from the scene

There are unconfirmed reports the death toll in Jodhpur, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, could be as high as 177. 

There are also 250 people injured, a number of them critically hurt.

Some 12,000 pilgrims had gathered to pray at the temple inside the 15th Century Mehrangarh fort that overlooks the town.

They were marking the start of a Hindu festival.

Local television reports of a bomb threat appears to have caused panic.

Jodhpur police superintendent Malini Aggarwal said the stampede was caused by the collapse of a wall leading up to the temple, which is a popular tourist attraction. 

Several deaths in the collapse then sparked a larger stampede.

Dozens of injured people were lying on the sidewalk and many more had been taken to at least two other nearby hospitals. 

There are also reports of an acute shortage of oxygen in the hospitals.

Aftermath of the deadly stampede

“I was to join my friend this morning to offer prayers but I was a little late,” said a Jodhpur university student at the scene who gave his name as Manish.

“When I arrived, I saw chaos, people rushing around the place. 

“I looked for my friend and after a while found him. He was unconscious but without serious injuries.”

He added that the path leading up to the temple shrine was very narrow with many people trying to get in at the time of the incident for a prayer session.

Deadly stampedes are a relatively common at temples in India, where large crowds – sometimes hundreds of thousands of people – congregate in small areas lacking facilities to control big gatherings.

In August, 142 people were killed in a stampede at a remote hilltop temple in Himachal Pradesh state in northern India.

Authorities ordered an investigation into that disaster, which occurred after rumours of a landslide triggered panic among pilgrims.

Those who ran down a narrow mountain trail from the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh state were met by thousands of people walking up.

In January 2005, at least 265 Hindu pilgrims, including several women and children, were killed near a remote temple in India’s Maharashtra state.