At least 10 dead in stampede in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Bangladesh – At least 10 people were killed and another 40 injured in a stampede Monday at a crowded religious ritual in Bangladesh for a popular ex-mayor who died last week, police said.

About 8,000 people were inside and outside a community centre, one of 11 sites where the ritual was being held for Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a three-term mayor of the port city of Chittagong. Many attendees were pushing to get in.

The ritual, called a “qulkhani,” is held three days after the death of a Muslim to seek the salvation of the departed soul. The one at the community centre was for the Hindu community in Bangladesh’s second-largest city.

The community centre event was called off after the stampede, though it continued at the 10 other locations.

Chowdury was popular because of his many welfare activities for the city.