At least 10 people were killed and many injured in a stampede Monday after tens of thousands of people gathered for a funeral feast in Bangladesh’s southern city of Chittagong, police said.
“So far we can confirm the death toll of 10 men,” city police chief Iqbal Bahar told AFP, adding it appeared to be an “accident.”
Mohammad Alauddin, another police official confirmed that 15 people are critically injured.”
Police staged baton charges to clear the crowd who packed community centers for the afternoon feast commemorating a popular former city mayor.
Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a senior politician of the ruling Awami League party and a three-term mayor of the country’s second largest city, died on Friday. He was 73.
In line with local Muslim traditions his family and the party hosted the funeral feast, “Mejban,” which drew more than 100,000 people to several locations in the city to eat and pray.
Police official Masum Billah said at least 20 policemen under his command had to use force to control the crowd and prevent “heavier damage.”
“We did not want to charge batons on the mourners but we were left with no choice,” he added.
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