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LequteMan
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No fewer than 18 persons died and nearly 50 were injured in a stampede in India's financial capital of Mumbai early on Saturday.
The stampede occurred as thousands of mourners gathered following the death of the 102-year-old leader of a Muslim sect, police said.
The stampede took place outside the home of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, in Malabar Hill, a wealthy part of the city.
He died on Friday and his body had been placed in his home to allow followers to pay their respects.
Witnesses said a large crowd of mourners was pressed against the gates of the house at the time of the stampede.
Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh said neither police nor organisers had expected such a large number of mourners.
Several of the injured were released after treatment at nearby hospitals, said a city official who declined to be named, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The stampede occurred as thousands of mourners gathered following the death of the 102-year-old leader of a Muslim sect, police said.
The stampede took place outside the home of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, in Malabar Hill, a wealthy part of the city.
He died on Friday and his body had been placed in his home to allow followers to pay their respects.
Witnesses said a large crowd of mourners was pressed against the gates of the house at the time of the stampede.
Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh said neither police nor organisers had expected such a large number of mourners.
Several of the injured were released after treatment at nearby hospitals, said a city official who declined to be named, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
