More than 80 dead after stampede at India religious event

Dozens of people have been killed in a stampede at a religious gathering in northern India on Tuesday, according to local police.

So far officials have said at least 87 people have died across the Hathras and Etah districts, with medical professionals warning the death toll may rise.

The incident happened as people were leaving a prayer meeting, known as a satsang, in the Mughal Garhi village in Uttar Pradesh, officials 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.

Crowds gather outside the emergency department of an Etah hospital after dozens have been killed in a stampede. / Credit: CNN

Officer Rajesh Singh said overcrowding may have been a factor. Initial reports suggested that over 15,000 people had gathered for the event, which had permission to host about 5,000.

Bodies were being brought to hospitals and morgues by trucks and private vehicles, government official Matadin Saroj said.

The stampede took place about 350 kilometres (217 miles) southwest of state capital Lucknow.

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

People gathered outside the Sikandrarao hospital following the stampede. / Credit: AP

A video shared online showed crowds gathering outside a local hospital in Etah alongside distraught relatives. Medical personnel could be seen carrying people on stretchers.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in an address in the lower house of India’s bicameral parliament known as the Lok Sabha.

Modi said the government is engaged in “relief and rescue work” and is coordinating with the state government.

“The victims will be helped in every way,” he said.

Speaking to reporters, Ashish Kumar, the district magistrate of Hathras, said the stampede happened as people were leaving the event, which was held to celebrate the Hindu deity Shiva.

The district magistrate said police had given permission for the private event and officials were “put on duty for maintenance of law and order and security,” but arrangements inside were handled by the organisers.

An investigation into the incident will be conducted by a newly formed high-level committee, he added.

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.