Two killed in panic at temple in India, police say

A group of monkeys cause an electric wire to snap, electrocuting 19 people and triggering a "stampede-like situation"

At least two people were killed when a crowd panicked after an electric wire snapped outside a temple in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh, authorities said.

A group of monkeys jumped onto an electric wire outside the Ausaneshwar Mahadev Temple in the Barabanki region, causing it to snap and fall on a shed, triggering panic, District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said.

Nineteen people were electrocuted and injured, he said.

"Two people were killed today in a stampede-like situation (at the temple) early in the morning," a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

The incident occurred around 2am (2030 GMT Sunday), the area's chief medical officer said, when some people at the temple "came in contact" with the electric wire, causing panic.

Accidents involving large crowds are not uncommon at religious gatherings in India, and are often blamed on poor crowd management.

At least 30 people were killed in a pre-dawn crowd crush at the Maha Kumbh (Great Pitcher) festival in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj in January, as tens of millions gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on its most auspicious day.

Six people were also killed in a stampede in neighbouring Uttarakhand state's Haridwar on Sunday, where a large crowd gathered to offer prayers at the Mansa Devi temple.