NEW DELHI , India ( CNN ) -- Fourteen people , most of them children , have been killed in a stampede during a Hindu festival in eastern India , police said Tuesday . The crush occurred Monday on a bridge along the banks of the river Ganges in Patna , the capital of Bihar state , according to authorities . The site was packed with hundreds of thousands of devotees celebrating the annual festival of Chhath , Patna 's police chief Jayant Kant said . During Chhath , one of the biggest festivals of eastern India , worshipers gather along river banks to offer prayers to the sun . An electric short circuit generated sparks from power cables , triggering the panic that led to the stampede , Kant said . About eight people were initially reported Monday to have been injured in the crush . But Kant said Tuesday that authorities no longer had anybody recorded as injured after some people died from their injuries .
The stampede occurred near the river Ganges in Patna , the capital of Bihar state . A police officer said that a group of people had gathered at around 8.30am to watch fireworks when they were suddenly stampeded. The area was packed with hundreds of thousands of devotees .