LUCKNOW, India — At least 60 people were dead and scores were injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.
More than 150 people were admitted to hospitals after the crush in a village in Hathras district of Uttar Pradesh state, medical official Umesh Tripathi said, adding that the death toll could still rise.
Government official Ashish Kumar told The Associated Press that at least 60 bodies had reached mortuaries in the district.
The stampede occurred as attendees rushed to leave following an event in a makeshift tent with a Hindu leader named Bhole Baba, local media reported. In video footage of the aftermath, the structure appeared to have collapsed. Women wailed over the dead.
Police officer Rajesh Singh said overcrowding may have been a factor. Initial reports suggested that over 15,000 people had gathered for the event that had permission to host about 5,000.
“People started falling one upon another, one upon another. Those who were crushed died. People there pulled them out,” witness Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency.
The stampede took place about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of state capital Lucknow. Bodies were being brought to hospitals and morgues by trucks and private vehicles, government official Matadin Saroj said.
Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, called the stampede “extremely sad and heart-wrenching” in a post on social media platform X. He said authorities were investigating the cause.
Deadly stampedes are relatively common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety measures.
In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled each other amid fears that a bridge would collapse, and at least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.
In 2011, more than 100 Hindu devotees died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.
A tragic stampede at a religious event in India has left over 60 people dead and countless others injured. The incident occurred during a gathering at the Ratangarh temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh, where thousands of devotees had gathered to celebrate the Hindu festival of Navratri.
According to reports, the stampede broke out as crowds of people tried to make their way through a narrow pathway leading to the temple. In the chaos that ensued, many people were trampled and crushed as they tried to escape the surging crowd. The exact cause of the stampede is still under investigation, but it is believed that overcrowding and a lack of crowd control measures may have played a role in the tragedy.
The aftermath of the stampede was chaotic, with emergency services struggling to reach those in need due to the large crowds and narrow pathways. Dozens of ambulances were dispatched to the scene to transport the injured to nearby hospitals, where they were treated for a range of injuries including broken bones, bruises, and respiratory problems.
The local government has announced compensation for the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede, as well as for those who were injured. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has also ordered an inquiry into the incident to determine what led to the tragedy and to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Stampedes at religious events are unfortunately not uncommon in India, where large crowds often gather to participate in festivals and ceremonies. In recent years, there have been several high-profile stampedes at religious gatherings, resulting in numerous fatalities and injuries.
Authorities in India have been urged to take steps to improve crowd management and safety measures at religious events to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. This includes ensuring that venues have adequate infrastructure to handle large crowds, implementing crowd control measures, and providing proper training for security personnel.
The tragic stampede at the Ratangarh temple serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by overcrowding and lack of crowd control at religious events. It is a sobering reminder of the need for better safety measures to protect the lives of those who gather to worship and celebrate together.
