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INDIA: Stampede began the night in a dense forest road accident has killed more than 100 Hindu pilgrims in the southern state of Kerala in India, police and officials said Saturday.

The state police said Deputy General 102 people were killed late on Friday. Officials at a Hindu temple has estimated the death toll at about 100, Kerala Temple Kadannappally Minister Ramachandran said by telephone.

Kerala Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting of government, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has promised up to 100,000 Indian rupees compensation for each of relatives killed, Press Trust of India.

"It's an unfortunate incident. The Prime Minister has called us and said that all measures be taken. My government will decide on an appropriate amount of compensation," said VS Achuthanandan, Kerala Chief Minister, CNN-IBN.

Hundreds gathered at the hill shrine of Sabarimala on Friday evening, the last day of an annual religious festival of two months.

A bus carrying pilgrims returning from the neighboring state of Karnataka came into collision with a jeep and went out of control, crushing people walking nearby, Kadannappally said. Panic Pilgrims flocked, triggering a stampede.

"Rescue operations are very difficult since the incident occurred in a dense forest, where roads are very narrow," he said.