The procession was that of former Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury who was also a leader of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasi’s ruling Bangladesh Awami League party, bdnews24.com reported. The police said the toll could rise as several others were critically injured in the accident. The stampede occurred in Chittagong’s Rima Community Centre, one of the 14 venues where the funeral ritual food was arranged, specially for non-Muslim people. With the crowd swelling out of control, people jostled for space on the ramp outside the entrance forcing some visitors to fall only to be trampled on by those behind, volunteer Anup Das said. He was also injured. Most of the victims reportedly died from suffocation.