Stampede at religious event in India kills at least 116 people, mostly women and children

People mourn next to the bodies of their relatives outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India killed at least 60 and left scores injured, officials said Tuesday, adding that many women and children were among the dead and the toll could rise. (AP Photo)

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed at least 116 people and injured scores, officials said.

Women mourn next to the body of a relative outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 60 people are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

It was not immediately clear what triggered the panic following an event with a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba. Local news reports cited authorities who said heat and suffocation in the tent could have been a factor. Video of the aftermath showed the structure appeared to have collapsed.

Women mourn next to the body of a relative outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 60 people are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

At least 116 people died, most of them women and children, said Prashant Kumar, the director-general of police in northern India's state of Uttar Pradesh, where the stampede occurred.

More than 80 others were injured and admitted to hospitals, senior police officer Shalabh Mathur said.

“People started falling one upon another, one upon another. Those who were crushed died. People there pulled them out,” witness Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Relatives wailed in distress as bodies of the dead, placed on stretchers and covered in white sheets, lined the grounds of a local hospital. A bus that arrived there carried more victims, whose bodies were lying on the seats inside.

Deadly stampedes are relatively common around Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few safety measures.

Police officer Rajesh Singh said there was likely overcrowding at the event in a village in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow.

Initial reports said organizers had permission to host about 5,000 people, but more than 15,000 came for the event by the Hindu preacher, who used to be a police officer in the state before he left his job to give religious sermons. He has led other such gatherings over the last two decades.

People stand around the bodies lying covered on stretchers outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India has killed at least 105 and left scores injured, officials said Tuesday, with many women and children among the dead. (AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of the dead and said the federal government was working with state authorities to ensure the injured received help.

Uttar Pradesh's chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, called the stampede "heart-wrenching” in a post on X. He said authorities were investigating.

Relatives mourn next to the bodies of their relatives outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India has killed at least 105 and left scores injured, officials said Tuesday, with many women and children among the dead. (AP Photo)

“Look what happened and how many people have lost their lives. Will anyone be accountable?” Rajesh Kumar Jha, a member of parliament, told reporters. He said the stampede was a failure by the state and federal governments to manage large crowds, adding that “people will keep on dying” if authorities do not take safety protocols seriously enough.

Relatives carry body of a man on a stretcher outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 60 people are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled each other amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.

In 2011, more than 100 Hindu devotees died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.

___

Pathi reported from New Delhi.

Police tape cordons off the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed at least 116 people and injured scores, officials said. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed at least 116 people and injured scores, officials said. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed at least 116 people and injured scores, officials said. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A religious gathering in northern India turned into a stampede Tuesday as thousands of people rushed to leave the event, killing at least 60. (AP Graphic)

Relatives and volunteers carry the bodies on stretchers at the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India has killed at least 105 and left scores injured, officials said Tuesday, with many women and children among the dead. (AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

An injured arrives in an ambulance at the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 60 people are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

People carry a woman on a stretcher outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. At least 60 people are dead and scores are injured after a stampede at a religious gathering of thousands of people in northern India, officials said Tuesday.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)

Relatives mourn next to a body lying covered at the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. A stampede among thousands of people at a religious gathering in northern India has killed at least 105 and left scores injured, officials said Tuesday, with many women and children among the dead. (AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)