At least 110 people trample religious meeting in India – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The tragedy occurred shortly after a Hindu religious festival in the Hathras region in the north of the country, local media reported.

– The participants were on their way out of the venue when a storm of dust particles blinded them. This led to the influx of people and this tragic event.

So says Chitra V, a senior manager in the nearby Aligarh city administration.

Local authorities told Reuters they had found 116 dead. Meanwhile, more than 150 people were taken to hospital with injuries. According to the New York Times.

– There was wet mud in one place where people may have slipped. Because of the heat, it is possible that people went to an area with water, which may also have caused the accident.

Local police win To the BBC It will take hours before all the dead are counted.

Many people have come to the hospital to search for their loved ones, and many of the dead remain unidentified, a BBC correspondent reported on the spot.

Debt in a crowded room

According to local police, up to 15,000 participants attended, although organizers had permission to accommodate only 5,000.

“When the service ended, everyone started running out,” a woman named Shakuntala told the Press Trust of India news agency.

– People fell into a gutter on the road. They started doing it on top of each other and ended up hugging each other until they died.

Umesh Kumar Tripathi, director of a hospital in neighbouring Etah district, told local media that medical staff had identified three dead children.

Most of the dead were women, Tripathi added, and “many injured” were taken to hospital. She said the administration was trying to provide all possible assistance.

Demand an investigation into the incident

The state chief minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Authorities in Hathras say investigations into the deceased are underway.

The incident is not unprecedented during major religious festivals in India. But this is the worst in years.

In 2013, around 115 people were killed in a similar incident at Ratnagarh temple in Madhya Pradesh state. Then 150,000 people gathered to celebrate Navratri.

Five years ago, 250 people were trampled to death at the Chamundagarh temple in Rajasthan.