Death toll rises to 116 in stampede at religious gathering in India

Thousands of people attending a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, sparking a stampede Tuesday that left more than 100 people dead and dozens injured, authorities said.

It is not yet clear what triggered the panic after an event with a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba. Local media said authorities may have been involved in the incident, due to the heat and suffocation inside the tent. A video of the events showed that the structure appeared to have collapsed.

At least 116 people died, mostly women and children, said Prashant Kumar, director general of police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where the stampede occurred.

AT LEAST 60 DEAD AFTER BUSH AT RELIGIOUS GATHERING IN NORTHERN INDIA

More than 80 others were injured and admitted to hospital, police officer Shalabh Mathur said.

“People started falling on each other. Those who were crushed died. People on the spot pulled them out,” Shakuntala Devi, a witness, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Relatives of the victims wept in pain as the bodies of the victims, placed on stretchers and covered with white sheets, littered the grounds of a local hospital. A bus arriving at the scene carried more victims, whose bodies lay on the seats inside.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with poor infrastructure and few security measures.

Police officer Rajesh Singh said there was likely overcrowding at the event in a village in Hathras district, about 220 miles southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.

People mourn next to the bodies of their loved ones outside Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district, about 217 miles southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India has left at least 60 people dead and dozens injured, officials said Tuesday, adding that many women and children were among the dead and the toll could rise. (AP Photo)

Initial reports said the organisers had permission to host around 5,000 people, but more than 15,000 people turned up for the event organised by the Hindu preacher, who was previously a police officer in the state before leaving the post to deliver religious sermons. He has led other such gatherings over the past two decades.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said the federal government was working with state authorities to ensure the injured received help.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the stampede “heartbreaking” in a message on X. He said authorities were investigating.

“Look at what happened and how many people lost their lives. Will anyone be held accountable?” Rajesh Kumar Jha, a member of Parliament, told reporters. He said the stampede was a failure of the state and federal governments to manage large crowds, adding that “people will continue to die” if authorities do not take safety protocols seriously enough.

In 2013, pilgrims heading to a temple for a Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled on each other for fear of a bridge collapsing. At least 115 people were crushed or died in the river.

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In 2011, more than 100 Hindu worshipers died in a stampede during a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.