Almost 100 dead in mass panic during Hindu festival in India
In northern India, nearly 100 people have lost their lives during a Hindu festival. "We have confirmed 97 deaths so far," said a city representative of Aligarh in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Chaitra V., to the news agency AFP on Tuesday. "The participants were trying to leave the venue when a dust storm obstructed their vision, leading to a crush and the tragic incident."
The panic occurred after a sermon by a popular preacher in Hathras, south of New Delhi, where a large crowd had gathered. Witnesses and local media reported that the victims were trampled or suffocated. "As the sermon ended, everyone started rushing out," a woman named Shakuntala told the Indian news agency PTI. "People fell into a canal beside the road, one on top of another, and they were trampled."
The head of the local health authority, Umesh Kumar Tripathi, stated that most of the deceased were women. Many injured were taken to the hospital. Weeping men and women gathered outside a mortuary in the city of Etah, where many of the dead were taken, seeking information about their relatives.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a compensation of approximately 2240 Euros for the families of the deceased and 560 Euros for the injured in this "tragic incident" through the online service X. "My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones (...) I wish a quick recovery to all the injured," Modi wrote on X. President Droupadi Murmu described the deaths as "heart-wrenching."
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased through the online service X. An investigation has been initiated. In India, fatal accidents continue to occur at the periphery of religious events. At least 112 people died in a fireworks ban violation in a temple complex in the state of Kerala in 2016. In 2013, 115 worshippers were killed in a stampede near a bridge near a temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Also in 2008, over 220 pilgrims died in a stampede at a temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.
The dust storm during the panic caused visibility issues, almost making it impossible for participants to navigate safely. The tragic incident resulted in nearly a hundred fatalities, turning the Hindu festival into a grave incident in India. Despite the mass panic, officials are conducting an investigation to prevent such incidents in future Hindu festivals.
