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Join on Telegram Rabat – The death toll has risen to over 121 victims, with 35 injured, as a result of a horrific disaster that occurred on Tuesday in the Hathras district in Northern India’s state of Uttar Pradesh.
Countless victims are still being identified as authorities scramble to treat and account for the wounded. At least seven children have been included amongst those pronounced dead. Of the 121 deceased, only 72 bodies, mostly being women, have been officially confirmed.
The horrific incident was a stampede that happened at a Hindu religious event in the village of Pulrai, 200 kilometers south of Delhi. Crowds more than three times the permitted size gathered to hear a sermon by religious guru Bhole Baba. The event had originally had been designed to hold 80,000 people, yet over 250,000 of his followers were admitted.
Upon Baba’s arrival, chaos erupted as thousands pushed forward to greet him when he attempted to exit his vehicle. Organizers of the event and officials attempted to redirect the crowd, but to no avail, as the stampede surged through exits too narrow for such a capacity.
Many of the victims were crushed while squatting on the ground, while others were trampled while crawling to catch sight of the religious man and kiss his feet in devotion. To add to the chaos, others were seen falling to their peril into an open sewer drain nearby.
Reports from BBC quoted the stampede survivors as describing the scene as “absolute chaos.” Everything seemingly was going fine, until suddenly screams erupted and the rush of crowds clamored, inciting the deadly stampede.
Other media reports added that event organizers provided little to no assistance for the injured, and were even trying to minimize the appearance of the death toll, hiding clothes and shoes in the nearby mud field.
With the updates of this rising death toll, this event has now become the deadliest such incident in India since 2013. Similar tragedies are unfortunately not uncommon in the country. A comparable crowd surge at another religious event in 2008 claimed the lives of 250.
Several charges, including culpable homicide, are being lodged against the organizers of the event, as traumatized families scramble to identify their loved ones and seek out justice for the deceased.
