At least 25 people including women and children, died in a stampede Friday evening after the burning of the Ravana effigy at the Gandhi Maidan here, an official said.
The stampede ensued when thousands of people who had gathered to watch the Dussehra event were coming out of of the sprawling area, Patna District Magistrate Manish Kumar Verma said.
"We have information that 25 people, including women and children died due to stampede after 'Ravan vadh' and 15 people were seriously injured," he said.
Verma told media persons here that authorities are trying to save the lives of the seriously injured who have been admitted to the Patna Medical College and Hospital.
"We are trying to save them," he said.
Earlier it was reported that half a dozen people fainted following rumours of stampede-like situation due to over-crowding at the Gandhi maidan.
"Some people tried to disperse as fast as possible after end of Ravan Vadh... that created the trouble," a district police official said.
According to some witnesses, the people fainted due to mismanagement of district administration as it failed to control the huge crowd gathered to watch the event.
However, the Durga Puja ended peacefully despite an intelligence alert of terrorists' threat in the state during the festival. "No reports of any untoward incidents during the festival across the state," said an officer at the police headquarters here.
