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Relief camp stampede kills six in Chennai

     Chennai: At least six women were killed and 10 others injured in a stampede at a relief distribution centre in Chennai on Sunday. The mishap occurred in the wee hours at a temporary relief camp in a college, where authorities were distributing rice and clothes to hundreds of flood victims. The injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital. According to eyewitnesses, people had queued up for relief material since the night before and it increased with the passage of time. "We had queued up for the relief material last night. There was a huge crowd that kept increasing with time. At around 3 o' clock there was a stampede in which I got hurt. I fell unconscious," said Laxmi, an injured and eyewitness. T. Vellippan, president, Tamil Nadu trader's association, said that the state government should adopt a more systematic way of relief distribution in order to avoid such mishaps in the future. "People had gathered at the relief centre at night. Everyone wanted to be first in the line to receive aid. More and more people got anxious. It resulted in a stampede and six got killed on the spot. Some of the injured have been admitted to the Stanley hospital. The Tamil Nadu government should assure that relief should be given for a month's time to avoid these kind of casualties," he said. The distribution centre has been closed, following the incident. Meanwhile, rain continued to pour for the second day, flooding many low-lying areas in the city and disrupting normal life. Incessant rains continue to lash Tamil Nadu where at least 100 people have died due to the bad weather since last month. Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have struggled to cope with torrential rain since last month.

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