More than 100 dead in mass panic in India
Tragic scenes at a Hindu festival in Northern India: After a sermon, numerous people rush to leave the area, resulting in a deadly crush. Dozens of people died in the process. The majority of the victims were women and children.
During a Hindu festival in Northern India, dozens of people have lost their lives in a stampede. According to the local newspaper "Hindustan Times," at least 107 people have been reported dead by the police. Many more were injured. The death toll could still rise, reported the channel India Today.
The stampede occurred during a celebration in honor of the god Shiva in Hathras, south of the capital New Delhi. Witnesses and local media reported that the victims were trampled or crushed to death as the sermon ended and numerous people rushed to leave the area.
"When the sermon ended, everyone started rushing out," a woman named Shakuntala told the Indian news agency PTI. "People fell into a canal next to the road, one on top of another and they were crushed." Among the dead were mostly women and children, said the local doctor Aggarwal on Indian television. Social media platforms were flooded with videos showing numerous bodies lying on the ground, allegedly near a local hospital.
The Chief Minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased through his office on the online service X. An investigation has been launched.
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.
- Despite the internationally recognized dangers associated with religious gatherings in India, the funeral procession for those who died in the Hindu festival stampede in Hathras, near New Delhi, attracted thousands of mourners.
- Global religious organizations, such as the World Hindu Council, have expressed their condolences over the misfortunes that occurred during the Hindu festival in Northern India and urged for stricter safety measures at religious events.
- Hindus worldwide are calling for a reform in Hinduism's celebration traditions, emphasizing the need to prioritize safety over religious fervor, following the devastating tragedy in Northern India.
