18 killed and scores injured in Mumbai stampede

A pre-dawn stampede killed 18 people as tens of thousands of people gathered to mourn the death of a Muslim spiritual
leader in Mumbai. About 18 people were reported to have died and too many others injured as crowds gather to pay respects to Muslim spiritual leader, who died aged 102.

Scores of people were injured in the stampede early on Saturday when mourners thronged the home of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the head of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community

It was gathered that The huge crowd pressed against the gates of the house at the time of the incidence.

Stampedes frequently happen at religious sites in India but they are not common in big cities such as Mumbai where there is often a greater police presence to monitor the flow of people.

The city's police commissioner, Satya Pal Singh, said police did not expect so many mourners and police were badly outnumbered by the crowd.

"We didn't think the crowd would be so great," Singh said. "Also, it's an emotional occasion when police cannot take harsh measures to push back the crowd."

Burhanuddin died on Friday and his body had been placed in his Malabar Hill home for people to pay their respects.

Last October, about 115 people were killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.