India stampede kills at least 121, most of them women and children

More than 100 people were killed and many others injured in a stampede during a Hindu religious event in the northern Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, officials said.

The stampede occurred at a bridge near the Ratangarh temple in Datia district, about 320 km (200 miles) north of the state capital Bhopal, as devotees were returning home after attending a religious gathering.

At least 116 of the victims were women and children, according to officials. The cause of the stampede is under investigation, but local media reports suggest that it may have been caused by a rumor that the bridge was about to collapse.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said that the government would provide all possible assistance.

The stampede is the deadliest in India since 2013, when 115 people were killed in a stampede at a bridge near a temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.