UP Hathras Stampede: Death toll rises to 121, number of injured at 28

The death toll in the stampede incident that occurred during a religious congregation in Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, has risen to 121, according to officials. The tragedy, which unfolded on Tuesday, also left 28 people injured, the Office of the Relief Commissioner reported on Wednesday.

Details of the Injured

the 28 injured, six are receiving treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Aligarh, six at Deen Dayal Hospital in Aligarh, nine at Bagla Hospital in Hathras, one at Agra SN Medical College, and six at Etah Medical College in Hathras.

The Uttar Pradesh Police filed a First Information Report (FIR) on Wednesday against the organizers of the religious congregation in Hathras, where at least 121 people lost their lives in a stampede. Notably, the FIR does not include Baba Narayan Hari, also known as Saakar Vishwa Hari Bhole Baba, as an accused. Death toll in Hathras Stampede rises to 116; people died due to suffocation after the stampede broke out during the conclusion of a ‘Satsang’ at Phulrai village near Mandi of Sikandrarau in Hathras. A Satsang is a Hindu religious congregation that usually takes place overnight.  “Twenty-seven bodies have arrived in Etah hospital. Among those killed are 23 women, three children and a man,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Etah, Rajesh Kumar Singh said. At least 121 people have been killed in a crush at a religious gathering in northern India, officials have said. The incident took place at a satsang (a Hindu religious event) in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state. The victims, including a large number of women and some children, are still being identified. Survivors have described how the disaster unfolded as they tried to leave the event in Phulrai village. It is not yet clear what led to the crush. Witnesses said the exit was too narrow and when people were leaving, a fierce dust storm led to confusion and panic, causing many people to become trampled. An eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC everything was “going fine”, until “all of a sudden I heard screams and before I knew it, people were falling on each other”. “When the sermon finished, everyone started running out,” a woman named only as Shakuntala told the Press Trust of India news agency. “People fell in a drain by the road. They started falling one on top of the other and got crushed to death.” Umesh Kumar Tripathi, chief medical officer from the neighboring district of Etah, told reporters the “stampede” had left at least three children dead. A spokesperson for a senior police officer in Uttar Pradesh told the BBC it would “take hours to release the final tally”. Distressing images from the site are being circulated online. Some videos showed the injured being taken to hospitals in pick-up trucks, tuk tuks and even motorbikes. A clip seen by the BBC showed several bodies left at the entrance of a local hospital as relatives screamed for help. “Such a huge accident has happened but not a single senior officer is present here,” a relative in another video said. “Where is the administration?” Mr. Kumar said the venue had been overcrowded, adding that a high-level committee had been formed to investigate the incident. “The primary focus of the administration is to provide all possible help to the injured and kin of the deceased,” he said. A video shared by news agency PTI showed the wounded being brought to a hospital for treatment. “Procedure of post-mortem is under way and the matter is being investigated,” official Satya Prakash in the neighboring district of Etah said. In Hathras, the screams of distraught family members can be heard in the local hospital. Many people are trying to find their loved ones, many bodies are unclaimed. There is a shortage of ambulances – each one is bringing two to three bodies. Hathras is filled with despair and pain. Accidents are routinely reported at religious events in India, as huge crowds gather in tight spaces with little adherence to safety measures. In 2018, around 60 people were killed after a train rammed into a crowd watching celebrations for Dusshera, a Hindu festival. In 2013, a crush at a Hindu festival in the central state of Madhya Pradesh had killed 115 people. Stampedes can be extremely dangerous in crowded situations. In such situations, the movement of a large crowd can lead to people being crushed or trampled. It’s essential to have crowd management strategies in place to prevent such disasters. Efforts must be made to investigate the causes of the stampede to prevent such incidents from happening again. Crowd management, safety protocols, and emergency response plans are essential in ensuring public safety during large gatherings or events. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those affected by this unfortunate event. It’s a reminder of the importance of proper planning and safety measures in crowded environments to avoid such heartbreaking outcomes. The stampede apparently occurred due to overcrowding, Sikandara Rao police station SHO Ashish Kumar said. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the stampede. He instructed officials to reach the accident site and carry out relief measures.