NEW DELHI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in Saturday's stampede in India's eastern city of Kolkata rose to 19, with 25 injured people receiving treatment in different hospitals and one in a critical condition, confirmed West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday.
Most among the dead were women and children, he said while admitting that there were "some shortcomings" in the arrangements made by the organizers. Kolkata is the capital city of India's eastern state of West Bengal.
The stampede occurred at a religious event, locally called "Durga Puja", amid the ongoing annual festive season in the country. Thousands of people had gathered to take part in the celebrations when the stampede occurred. The mishap was partly blamed on heavy rains.
"This happened partly due to the rains, and there were also some shortcomings in the arrangements made by the event organizers," said the chief minister.
Meanwhile, media reports said that around 10 people, including the organizers and private security personnel, present when the mishap occurred were detained by the Kolkata Police for questioning. "Whoever is found negligent will face legal action," the chief minister said. ■
