116 crushed in mad rush

A devastating stampede snuffed out the lives of more than 116 devotees, including 108 women and 7 children, at a religious gathering in Hathras district (UP).

- Biswajeet Banerjee

The tragedy occurred as the 'devotees scrambled to leave the venue which was swarming with people. The excessive heat and the overcrowding added to the impulse to rush out after a sermon by religious preacher Bhole Baba concluded.

The incident has sparked widespread outrage and grief, with authorities launching an investigation into the causes of the stampede. The preacher is untraceable.

There were heart-rending scenes at the district trauma centre. Victims, both unconscious and dead, were carted to the centre in ambulances, trucks and cars. A woman sat crying among five or six bodies in a truck, urging people to help her get the body of her daughter out of the vehicle. As the hours went by and the official fatalities jumped, the crowd outside the trauma centre and the mortuary swelled.