Survivors of India’s deadliest stampede in more than a decade testified Wednesday to “chaos” during the disaster at a crowded Hindu gathering that left 121 people dead.
A crowd of some 250,000 people gathered to listen to a preacher on Tuesday in Hathras in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, according to a police report, more than triple the 80,000 allowed.
Bhole Baba, the Hindu preacher who has a great reputation in Uttar Pradesh, has not reappeared since the tragedy.
Hours after the deadly stampede Wednesday morning, discarded clothes and shoes still littered the site, a muddy field alongside a highway.
According to witnesses, many people fell on top of each other as they rolled down a slope into a waterlogged ditch.
“Everyone – the entire crowd, including women and children – left the scene at the same time,” said Sheela Maurya, a 50-year-old police officer who was on duty.
“There was not enough space and people fell on top of each other.”
Uttar Pradesh disaster management authorities released a list of deaths on Wednesday morning, putting the toll at 121, most of them women.
Authorities initially blamed a dust storm for the panic, but police later said the stampede occurred when “worshippers began scooping up dirt” where the preacher had passed.
Organizers wanted
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister flew in a helicopter to visit dozens of injured people.
“This kind of incident is not a mere accident,” Yogi Adityanath, the minister who is also a Hindu monk, told reporters in his saffron robes. A judicial inquiry has been opened.
The crowd of devotees followed Bhole Baba’s convoy as it left the site, the official said.
“As his convoy moved forward, a group of women approached him to touch him,” he said.
“A crowd followed them and they fell on top of each other. The organizers pushed them […] that’s how it happened.”
Police said they were looking for the organizers for questioning.
” Crushed “
The policewoman, who was working the ceremony in the humid and stifling heat on Tuesday, was also injured.
“I tried to help some women, but I fainted and was crushed by the crowd,” she said. “I don’t know how, but someone pulled me out of there, and I don’t remember much.”
“The main highway that runs alongside the field was jammed with people and vehicles for miles, there were too many people here,” said Hori Lal, 45, who lives in the nearby Phulrai Mughalgadi village.
“Once people started falling sideways and getting crushed, it was chaos.”
“Never seen so many people”
Police officer Sheela Maurya said she had “never seen so many people” at an event, although she has previously provided security for political and religious gatherings.
At dawn on Wednesday, four unidentified bodies lay on the floor of a makeshift morgue at a hospital in the nearby town of Hathras.
Ram Nivas, a 35-year-old farmer, said he was searching for his missing sister-in-law, Rumla, 54. “We couldn’t find her anywhere,” he said, adding that he had visited all the hospitals in the area during the night. “We just hope she’s still alive,” he added in a low voice. “Maybe just lost.”
“Everyone wanted to go out”
In the hospital’s emergency ward, Sandeep Kumar, 29, sits next to his injured sister, Shikha Kumar, 22. “After the event was over, everyone wanted to get out quickly, and that’s what led to the stampede,” Sandeep said.
“She saw people fainting, being crushed.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of $2,400 for the relatives of those who died and $600 for those injured in the “tragic accident”.
The upper house of parliament observed a minute’s silence on Wednesday.
Religious gatherings in India have a sad record of fatal incidents due to poor crowd management and security lapses.
At least 224 pilgrims died in 2008, and more than 400 were injured, during a stampede around a temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.