Police say many of those killed were women and children [AFP]

Indian authorities announced an investigation into the stampede which happened at the Naina Devi Temple in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Witnesses said heavy rains and rumours of a landslide caused pilgrims to panic as they climbed a narrow mountain path to the temple on Sunday.

But prayers resumed on Monday amid tight security as hundreds of devotees remained undeterred after the disaster and resumed their trek up the mountain.

"We are not scared. The power of the goddess calls us and the goddess did as she wanted," said one pilgrim.

Police said 145 people, many of them women and children, were killed and 37 injured.

An estimated 25,000 people were on the mountain at the time to celebrate Shravan Navratras, a nine-day festival that honours the goddess Shakti, when rumours of a landslide spooked pilgrims.

Nowhere to escape

With a concrete wall on one side and a precipice on the other, there was nowhere to escape when thousands pilgrims already at the temple began running down the path and collided with devotees winding their way up.

At one point, a guard rail broke and dozens of people fell to their deaths.

Many families, who began mass funerals on Monday, lost several members in the stampede.

Some survivors said police were partly to blame for the disaster.

"The police did not allow people to step back. Meanwhile, people started coming down from above shouting go back, go back," said Ramesh Kumar Saini, who was at the temple.

"Since the police did not allow the people to go back, this tragedy happened."

Prem Kumar Dhuma, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh state, announced an investigation into the cause of the disaster and said 100,000 rupees ($2,380) would be paid to the families of each victim.

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