LUCKNOW, India (AP) — At least 116 people were killed and dozens injured in a stampede in India on Tuesday as thousands of people attending a religious congregation tried to flee makeshift tents, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the panic after the incident with the Hindu guru, known locally as Bole Baba. Local reports said heat and suffocation inside the tent may have been to blame, and authorities said. Footage from afterwards showed what appeared to be a building collapsing.
Prashant Kumar, director general of police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where the stampedes occurred, said at least 116 people were killed, mostly women and children.
More than 80 other people were injured and taken to hospital, senior police official Shalabh Mathur said.
“People started falling one by one. Those who were crushed died. People there pulled them out,” eyewitness Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency.
Relatives let out cries of anguish as bodies were loaded onto stretchers, covered with white sheets and lined up on the grounds of a local hospital. Buses carrying more victims arrived at the hospital, bodies lying on seats inside.
Deadly Rampage Relatively common Religious festivals in India draw large crowds into small areas with poor infrastructure and few safety measures.
Police officer Rajesh Singh said there were probably too many people at the event, which took place in a village in Hathras district, about 350 kilometers southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.
Initial reports said organizers had permission to host around 5,000 guests, but more than 15,000 people turned out for the event hosted by a Hindu preacher who was a police officer in the state before quitting his job to give religious sermons and has been hosting similar gatherings for the past 20 years.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the victims and said the federal government was working with state authorities to ensure that the injured received assistance.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a post on X, called the mob violence “heartbreaking” and said authorities were investigating.
“Look what has happened, how many lives have been lost. Is anyone going to be held responsible?” Congress leader Rajesh Kumar Jha told reporters. He blamed the stampede for the failure of state and federal governments to manage large crowds, adding that “people will continue to die” unless authorities take safety measures seriously.
In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh trampled each other over fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 people were crushed to death or died in the river.
In 2011, more than 100 Hindus were crushed to death during a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.
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Pati reported from New Delhi.
