More than 140 people have been killed and 55 injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in India.

The stampede occurred at the Chamunda temple inside a fort on the top of a hill near the historic town of Jodhpur, in the western state of Rajasthan.

A handful of people fell while climbing a steep slope towards the Chamunda temple, sited inside a hilltop fort near the city of Jodhpur, triggering the crush, according to a witness.

"People were falling over one another. Many ran but were trampled under the feet of thousands," Anubhav, a witness who only gave his first name, said.

Rajasthan police spokesman Rajiv Dasoth said: "We have a final figure of 147 people died and 55 injured. The situation is under control and all the injured are being taken care of in hospitals."

Officials said the crowds were especially large as pilgrims gathered for the start of the nine-day Navratri festival.

One witness, who gave his name as Santa, said the stampede occurred as authorities tried to stop pilgrims from entering the temple to make way for a VIP. But police gave a different account.

"The stampede started after a barricade near the temple broke and there was huge confusion and people started running down a steep slope and fell on each other," Mr Dasoth said.

Local television showed volunteers carrying bodies and trying to revive them on the street.

One child cried over her father's lifeless body, wailing "Daddy, please get up".

"We will definitely conduct an inquiry and if we find people were negligent, we will definitely take action," Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said.

Last month, a stampede outside a mountaintop Hindu temple in northern India killed at least 145 pilgrims.

Authorities ordered an investigation into that disaster, which occurred after rumours of a landslide triggered panic among pilgrims.

They ran down a narrow mountain trail from the Naina Devi temple in Himachal Pradesh state, only to meet thousands of people walking up.

In January 2005, at least 265 Hindu pilgrims, including several women and children, were killed in a stampede near a remote temple in India's Maharashtra state.

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