India's financial capital, Bombay, which has been pummelled this week by record-breaking rains, suffered another disaster when rumours of a tsunami caused a stampede in one of its slum areas, killing 18 people and injuring 21, dpa quoted officials as saying Friday. Mischief-makers spread rumours of dam-bursts and a tsunami in Bombay, creating panic amongst the city dwellers. Police said a majority of the 17 people arrested for spreading the tsunami rumours were from Nehrunagar in northwest Bombay where the stampede happened on Thursday night. Authorities said six children and seven women lost their lives in the stampede. "Some people spread the rumour of a tsunami and people at the slum which is near the sea were panic-stricken. There has been no electricity in the area for the last few days, which caused the chaos", police commissioner A.N. Roy said. A slum dweller told NDTV: "They told us that water in tall columns from the sea would descend on the slums soon. People started running and were falling over each other in a rush to get out of the slums. The commotion did not stop until the announcement was made from the loudspeaker in a mosque". --mor 1112 Local Time 0812 GMT
