NEW DELHI — A stampede at a rally for a popular actor and politician in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu killed at least 36 people and injured 40 others, the state’s health minister said late Saturday.

The minister, Ma Subramanian, told The Associated Press that the victims were dead by the time they were taken to a hospital. He said the injured were stable.

The dead included eight children, Subramanian said.

The rally was being addressed by Vijay, one of Tamil Nadu’s most successful actors-turned-politician in the Karur district.

Stampedes are relatively common in India when large crowds gather. In January, at least 30 people were killed as tens of thousands of Hindus rushed to bathe in a sacred river during the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering.