DHAKA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed on Monday in a stampede in Bangladesh's Chattagram district, 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka.

People were crowded outside a donor's house early Monday morning to receive traditional food for Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a local police officer said.

The officer, on condition of anonymity, said, "At least nine women were killed in the stampede."

Some 40 people, mostly women and children, were injured in the incident, he said.

Since early Monday, thousands of poor people, mostly women, gathered near the house of a local businessman to collect the Iftar items.

According to the residents of the area and police, the stampede was triggered as too many people pushed each other to get the first delivery of food items.