VARANASI, INDIA - One woman was killed and more than 20 injured Wednesday in a stampede in the holy Indian city of Varanasi where tens of thousands gathered to bathe in the Ganges river during the solar eclipse.

"A woman collapsed and died due to suffocation in the heavy rush of devotees. People panicked and started running," senior police officer R S Tyagi told AFP.

The stampede occurred on a narrow set of stairs where a massive crowd jostled to enter a temple adjacent to the banks of the river.

"We have rushed the injured to the hospital. It is very tough to control the crowd who are out to see the eclipse, " he said Tyagi said more than 20 people were injured in the crush, five of them seriously.