PATNA: A stampede at a temple during a Hindu religious festival left at least 10 pilgrims dead and dozens injured on early Monday in eastern India, police said.

Thousands of people tried to force their way into the temple when its gates opened at daybreak in Deoghar, a town in Jharkhand state, said police officer Subodh Kumar.

At least 10 pilgrims, including eight women, died and another 48 were injured, state Home Commissioner N.N. Pande told reporters. The injured, including four in serious condition, were being treated at a hospital.

He said tens of thousands of people were participating in a month long festival at the temple of Shiva, the destroyer, one of the main deities of Hinduism.

"Suddenly there was a push and we all fell down," said Nidhi Kumari, a pilgrim who was waiting to enter the temple.

The town is nearly 255 kilometers south of Patna, the capital of Bihar state.

Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

In July, 27 people died when tens of thousands of pilgrims taking part in a Hindu religious bathing festival triggered a massive stampede on a riverbank in southern India's Andhra Pradesh state.

In October 2013, a stampede in Madhya Pradesh state in central India killed more than 110 people, mostly women and children.

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