19 dead in stampede ahead of Hindu ceremony in India

Hindu pilgrims hold religious flags and walk on a crowded bridge after a stampede on the same bridge on the outskirts of Varanasi, India, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. More than a dozen people were killed and several more injured in a stampede that occurred as they were crossing a crowded bridge Saturday to reach the venue of a Hindu religious ceremony in northern India, police said. Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

A man loads a truck with footwear of victims of a stampede on a crowded bridge on the outskirts of Varanasi, India, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016. More than a dozen people were killed and several more injured in a stampede that occurred as they were crossing a crowded bridge Saturday to reach the venue of a Hindu religious ceremony in northern India, police said. Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

LUCKNOW, India – Police say at least 19 people were killed and 25 others injured in a stampede as they were heading to a Hindu religious ceremony in northern India.

Police officer Daljit Singh says the stampede occurred Saturday on the outskirts of Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh state known for its temples.

Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 110 people, mostly women and children.