Fatal stampede kills 100 in India

    MUMBAI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 100 pilgrims were killed and around 100 others injured in a deadly stampede that took place in southwestern India on Friday evening, local media reported early Saturday.
    The tragedy（灾难） occurred a little after 8 p.m. Friday, when a jeep ploughed through a crowd of pilgrims who were returning from a temple after a ritual in a narrow trekking¹ path of the forest in Idukki district of the southwestern state of Kerala. When the jeep suddenly overturned, it triggered the stampede as the pilgrims ran away, local police said.
    An official of Kerala said the overturned jeep crushed some people, and more vehicles behind the jeep slipped, and fell on the pilgrims, triggering the stampede.
    Many pilgrims were trampled² when the huge crowd surged forward after a barricade³ broke, a witness was quoted as saying.
    There were several thousand pilgrims attending the holy event, and Friday was the most important day for the pilgrims（朝圣者）, most of them from the neighboring states, such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, said the temple's spokesman.
    Witnesses said more than 100,000 pilgrims had assembled to witness the celestial⁴ light, which was the most important event of the pilgrimage.
    Kerala's police officer Sanjay Kumar said the death toll⁵ had risen to 100, and he feared the casualties could be even higher because of the factors of low visibility and the hilly terrain⁶.
    A forest guard identified only as Saji, who took part in the rescue operation, said about 100 people might have died. "More than 55 bodies have been sent to a nearby hospital, and more bodies are being collected," he added.
    The Kerala government launched a huge rescue operation, and its security forces rushed to the scene for the rescue efforts. However, poor light and the huge mass of people at the site hampered⁷ their operation.
    Indian Defense⁸ Minister A.K. Antony said it is one of the worst tragedies the country has ever seen. He ordered the troops to provide all the possible help.
    Many injured people are receiving treatment in nearby hospitals, and some of them are in critical condition, according to local police.
    The site of the incident is a remote area on the border with the state of Tamil Nadu. Many victims were from Tamil Nadu, and they were returning home when the tragedy happened, said local police.
    India's Congress MP Thomos said it was a mistake for the security department to dispatch only four policemen to maintain order for more than 100,000 pilgrims.
    However, local police claimed that they had made arrangements for the vehicles to use that narrow forest route, but the sheer number of this year's pilgrims made crowd controlling much more difficult.
    On Jan. 14, 1999, the collapse⁹ of a hillock also caused a fatal stampede at the Pamba base camp in Kerala, leaving 53 pilgrims dead.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 trekking   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的现在分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• She can't come pony trekking after all because she's in a delicate condition. 她结果还是不能坐小马车旅行，因为她已怀孕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We spent the summer trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas. 我们整个夏天都在喜马拉雅山的山麓艰难跋涉。 来自互联网

2 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

3 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

4 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

5 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

6 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

7 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。