A five-year-old boy and two women were killed, while several others received injuries in a stampede at a Durga Puja pandal in Bihar's Gopalganj district, police said.

The incident happened at the crowded pandal in Raja Dal locality of the town on Monday, SP Swarna Prabhat said.

He said devotees had lined up to receive ‘prasad’ when the child fell down and two elderly women bent down to protect him from getting crushed.

"The ensuing commotion left 13 women and the child injured. They were rushed to the Sadar hospital. The boy and the two elderly women died. The rest were said to be out of danger," Prabhat said.

Meanwhile, the area around the site of the incident has been sealed with a view to keep the situation under control, he added.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.